Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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261. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which she and her Department continue to promote Irish language and culture in Gaeltacht areas throughout the country; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10765/22]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030 and the accompanying Action Plan for the Irish Language (Plean Gníomhaíochta 2018-2022) represents state policy for the Irish language and Gaeltacht regions.

The Strategy and Action Plan have cross-departmental ownership and, accordingly, responsibility for implementation falls on a number of Government Departments, bodies and Irish language and Gaeltacht organisations. The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport, Gaeltacht and Media is responsible for coordinating its implementation.

The Action Plan and the second annual progress report published in October 2021 - covering the 18 month period from 1 July 2019 to 31 December 2020, present a clear overview of the 180 or so actions being advanced by c. 60 stakeholders in support of the language and Gaeltacht regions.

A copy of the Action Plan, together with the progress report, can be found on the Department's website. The actions set out in the plan are presented around the nine specific areas of action as set out in the overarching strategy. Of particular interest to the Deputy will be Area of Action 2: An Ghaeltacht.

I might also point out that an additional exchequer allocation of €7m has been provided in Budget 2022 for the Irish language and Gaeltacht sectors, ultimately meaning that total funding in excess of €85m is being deployed in support of the Irish language via my Department alone next year.

A budget allocation of €5.8m is being made available in 2022 to support the Language Planning Process. This will enable my Department to fund both Údarás na Gaeltachta and Foras na Gaeilge who are tasked under the Gaeltacht Act 2012 with supporting the language planning process. It will also enable my Department to support, at a central level, organisations which operate in the Early Years and Childhood, Family and Traditional Arts sectors as an additional support to the language planning process.

My Department also provides significant co-funding to Foras na Gaeilge to carry out its statutory mandate under the British-Irish Agreement Act 1999, to promote the Irish language on an all-island basis. This funding, along with funding from the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland, enables Foras na Gaeilge to provide support, advice and financial assistance to many community language groups and to its six lead organisations who are working to promote the Irish language on an all-island basis.

Finally, as the Deputy may be aware, the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021 has recently been signed into law. The primary purpose of the Act is to amend the Official Languages Act 2003 with a view to increasing and improving the provision of public services through the Irish language. The systematic implementation of the Act will serve to further indirectly benefit the language in Gaeltacht regions.

I am confident that these key measures will continue to support and develop greater use of the Irish language both within Gaeltacht regions and nationally.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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262. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the degree to which she continues to ensure the availability of opportunities in arts and culture throughout the Gaeltacht area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10766/22]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Ealaín na Gaeltachta Teo., a joint venture between Údarás na Gaeltachta and the Arts Council, is the organisation responsible for promoting the development of the contemporary and the traditional arts in the Gaeltacht.

It is against the backdrop of the relevant measures set out in the Government’s Action Plan for the Irish language 2018-2022 that Ealaín na Gaeltachta operate. Additional information is available on the organisation's website: www.ealain.ie

For the current year, the organisation is in receipt of €1.2m from the partnership between the Arts Council and Údarás na Gaeltachta.

In 2021, funding allocations were made by the organisation for the following:

- 5 strategic projects throughout the Gaeltacht under the Cothú Scheme;

- 18 Gaeltacht arts festivals;

- 44 Gaeltacht artists received support through the organisation's Artists Bursary Scheme;

- Over 35 small one-off events/projects; and,

- 16 strategic arts projects, including visual arts, literature, stage shows, youth drama and residencies through the Arts Development Scheme.

Ealaín na Gaeltachta deploys funding directly to artists, arts organisations, and community groups in the Gaeltacht via eight funding schemes and offers a range of soft supports to the sector including training, mentoring, advice, information-sharing and advocacy. The organisation engages in and facilitates a wide range of partnerships regionally, nationally, and internationally which increase opportunities in the arts sector for Gaeltacht communities and arts practitioners.

In order to further promote and develop the language based arts in the Gaeltacht and to specifically support the language planning process and the Policy on Gaeltacht Education, my Department has provided additional funding of up to €1.5m to Ealaín na Gaeltachta enabling the organisation to further support and create opportunities for the artistic community, especially the among the youth of the Gaeltacht. A breakdown of my Department’s additional funding is as follows:

- €1.275m was sanctioned by my Department in 2019 in order to support language-based arts classes and development opportunities in the various Language Planning Areas throughout the Gaeltacht over a three year period. In the context of this programme, I also allocated a further €50,000 recently to Ealaín na Gaeltachta which will focus on promoting opportunities for young people taking part in the language-based arts classes to showcase their artistic talents outside the classroom environment.

- As a separate initiative, I sanctioned an additional €150,000 on a pilot basis to Ealaín na Gaeltachta in 2021 enabling them to develop a drama programme directed at the youth in Gaeltacht areas. This entails 700 hours of drama classes benefiting up to 230 pupils. It also enables the organisation to conduct research and explore the activities and resources currently available to young people in the Gaeltacht.

- This funding also enables Ealaín na Gaeltachta to employ an additional five co-ordinators to implement the programme (four full-time and one part-time) located in the various Gaeltacht regions.

I might also point out that further funding of €12,200 per annum was allocated to Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne to provide language-based arts classes in the West Kerry Gaeltacht, while many of the national initiatives funded under the Creative Ireland Programme are also available in the Gaeltacht.

My officials continue to engage with relevant stakeholders including Ealaín na Gaeltachta in order to explore any opportunity arising for the artistic community, to build an understanding of the range of challenges facing the sector at present and to implement appropriate solutions for the future.