Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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28. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht what strategy she has for Gaeltacht island communities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20941/24]

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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Our offshore islands and their communities are an integral part of the Irish countryside and hold particular importance in the country's culture. The Irish language is an essential part of the community's identity and heritage on the Gaeltacht islands.

Our Living Islands is the 10-year national policy for offshore islands. This all of Government policy, which is led by the Department of Communities and Rural Development, was published in June 2023, together with a three-year action plan containing 80 new time-bound actions that have been agreed and will be implemented by various stakeholders, under the leadership of designated Government Departments or State Institutions.

The aim of this policy is to ensure that sustainable, vibrant communities can continue to live - and thrive - on the offshore islands for many years to come. Related to that aim is our ambition that visitors to the islands can continue to experience and appreciate the unique culture, heritage and environmental richness that the islands have to offer.

The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media was represented on the Inter-Departmental Committee, which oversaw the development of the policy and Údarás na Gaeltachta also contributed to it.

The Gaeltacht islands and Údarás na Gaeltachta have representatives on the Monitoring Committee established to supervise the implementation of Our Living Islands.

The Gaeltacht Act 2012 gives statutory effect to the Language Planning Process under which language plans are prepared at community level. 4 Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas cover the 6 Gaeltacht islands.

An annual allocation of €120,000-€180,000 is available to the Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas to employ a Language Planning Officer and to implement the measures of the language plan for a period of 7 years.

The following is the annual allocation made available to the 6 Gaeltacht islands through the language planning process.

In addition, three separate organisations are funded through the Department's Language Planning section. These are Comhar Naíonraí na Gaeltachta which focuses mainly on childcare services, Tuismitheoirí na Gaeltachta which organizes social and cultural events for families and the Cuisle program of Ealaín na Gaeltachta which promotes the arts among young people. The communities on the islands can draw on the services of these organisations as well.

Údarás na Gaeltachta provides funding for seven community development organisations that operate on Gaeltacht Islands. These are:

• Comharchumann Chléire
• Comharchumann Oileán Árainn Mhór
• Comharchumann Thoraí
• Comharchumann na nOileán Beag
• Comharchumann Forbartha Árann
• Comhlacht Forbartha Inis Meáin
• Comhar Chaomhán (Inis Oirr)