John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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50. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht na hiarrachtaí atá á dhéanamh aige chun an méid iomlán maoinithe a chur ar fáil do Fhoras na Gaeilge i mbliana chun a gcuid gníomhaíochtaí reatha a choinneáil i bhfeidhm; agus an ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ina thaobh. [10165/25]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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Foras na Gaeilge is part of the North South Language Body, which was established as one of the north-south implementation structures under the British-Irish Agreement Act 1999.

Budgets for the North South Institutions, including An Foras Teanga, are approved by the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC). Seventy-five per cent (75%) of the budget is provided by my Department to Foras na Gaeilge and the remainder comes from the Department for Communities in the north.

The Irish Government has provided an increase in the 2025 budget to be directed towards An Foras Teanga. However, the Executive's budget year in the north begins in April and as such, this year's budgets have not yet been confirmed by the Department for Communities in the north.

Once the 2025 budget has been confirmed and agreed by the sponsoring Departments, North and South, it will be presented to the next NSMC meeting for approval.

Foras na Gaeilge decided at the beginning of this year to implement cuts to some of its schemes based on their budget last year.

The sponsoring Departments North and South are working closely together to examine all options to find a solution – both in the short and long term – to the funding issues that have arisen in the Language Body. At the same time, it must be ensured that the agreed funding ratios that have been in place for many years are not ignored and that the various budgetary position of both Governments, North and South, are not ignored.

In the meantime, it is important to note that my Department provides significant additional funding to Foras na Gaeilge and its 6 lead organisations in relation to other Irish language activities. Over the past two years alone, the share of this funding provided directly by Government to Foras na Gaeilge lead organisations has doubled from €1.8m in 2023 to €3.6m this year.

This reflects the practical efforts being made to resolve the challenges associated with the budgets of An Foras Teanga.

Minister Calleary recently met with the Chairperson and Chief Executive of Foras na Gaeilge to discuss the matter and efforts will continue to find a solution to this matter in the coming weeks.