Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

50. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she envisages the Irish-language summer schools in the Gaeltacht proceeding in 2021 as they are a vital resource for rural communities. [24449/20]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Deputy may be aware that my Department, via Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge, subvents the cost of attending summer college in Gaeltacht regions. Under the terms of the scheme, the Department provides a subsidy, currently worth €10 per day (equivalent to €220 per student for a three week course) which benefits over 26,000 students a year while staying in any of the c.700 Gaeltacht households approved under the scheme. This represents a State investment of over €4m annually in the Irish summer colleges sector, which forms a critical part of the Gaeltacht economy and is estimated in overall terms to be worth €50m annually.

Following the cancellation, on 20th April 2020, of Irish summer college courses by my Department in the interests of protecting public health during the COVID-19 pandemic, my Department approved a once-off emergency measure worth €4.7m to support the stabilisation of the Gaeltacht Irish summer college sector.

Under the stabilisation package, up to €3.1m is being directed at enabling college authorities to refund fees/deposits to parents in full in respect of 2020 courses, while a further €1.6m is being allocated towards supporting the c. 700 certified Gaeltacht householders who normally provide accommodation to attending students.  The majority of this funding has now been paid out by my Department.

I should point out that the stabilisation fund was provided as a specific once-off measure with the overall objective of ensuring the ongoing viability of the sector. The approval of this stability initiative took account of the need to address without delay, issues around cash-flow within the summer college sector, which significantly hampered colleges’ ability to adequately refund fees/deposits to parents.

Based, not least, on the broadly positive feedback regarding the measure from relevant stakeholders within the Irish summer colleges sector,  I am satisfied that the measure was both necessary and effective.

In relation to 2021, the Deputy will appreciate that it is not possible at this juncture to predict whether summer colleges will be in a position to operate due to the ongoing pandemic. Having said that, the Deputy may be assured that my Department will continue to carefully monitor the situation and will continue to engage with relevant stakeholders, including CONCOS, the summer colleges' umbrella organisation, as appropriate. 

Like everyone else involved in the summer colleges sector, I look forward to working ultimately towards the safe return of Irish summer colleges in the future, and the ongoing contribution of our Gaeltacht households and colleges to the development of the Irish language and to sustaining Gaeltacht communities.