Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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592. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills whether his Department has investigated the costs associated with ensuring Irish-English bilingual signage in every higher education institution; if he can share these costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22707/25]

Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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593. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills whether his Department has investigated the costs associated with funding a full-time staff role of Irish language officer in every higher education institution; if he can share these costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22709/25]

Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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595. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills whether his Department has investigated the cost associated with employing a full-time Irish-English translator for every higher education institution in the State; if he can share these costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22713/25]

Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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596. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills whether his Department has investigated the cost associated with funding all TEG exams for all third level courses where it is a requirement of the course,; if he can share these costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22715/25]

Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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597. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills whether his Department has investigated the cost associated with introducing an optional module in every degree that would be taught through Irish in all third level education; if he can share these costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22717/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 592, 593, 595, 596 and 597 together.

Our higher education system plays an important role in supporting and promoting the use of the Irish language. To this end, the Higher Education Authority (HEA) has a statutory responsibility to ensure that higher education institutions (HEIs) promote and use the language.

It should be noted that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are autonomous bodies within the meaning of the Universities Act 1997, the Institutes of Technology Acts 1992 to 2006, and the Technological Universities Act 2018. They are responsible for their own administrative and academic affairs, including their Irish language strategies and initiatives.

Recurrent grant funding is allocated to these institutions either through the HEA, which disburses funding on behalf of this Department, or via direct grants from the Department to certain institutions. As autonomous entities, assessing the costs involved in various Irish language initiatives is a matter for each individual institution, my Department has no role in investigating these costs centrally.

Notwithstanding this, my department provides ring-fenced funding of €900,000 annually to support greater use of the Irish language by students and staff in our higher education institutions. This funding is allocated through the HEA as block grants, allowing institutions fund their own Irish-language initiatives.

The HEA also distributes funding of €1.8 million annually from my department for the development of Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge at the University of Galway, with further funding coming from the Department of the Gaeltacht.

Additionally, the HEA sponsors the Gníomhaí Gaeilge initiative and has provided €150,000 in funding over the last three years to develop Irish language skills among students in Irish language clubs and societies through mentorship and training, in partnership with the Union of Students in Ireland and Conradh na Gaeilge.

These supports are in addition to any initiatives which are independently sponsored by third level institutions themselves, which support and promote the use of the Irish language.

Eoin Hayes (Dublin Bay South, Social Democrats)
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594. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills whether his Department has investigated the costs associated with fully implementing the Official Languages Act 2003 and 2021 across all higher education institutions in the State; if he can share these costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22711/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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Higher Education Institutions are autonomous bodies within the meaning of the Universities Act 1997, the Institutes of Technology Acts 1992 to 2006, and the Technological Universities Act 2018. They are responsible for their own administrative and academic affairs, including those impacted by the Official Languages Acts.

Recurrent grant funding is allocated to these institutions either through the Higher Education Authority (HEA), which disburses funding on behalf of this Department, or via direct grants from the Department to certain institutions.

As autonomous entities, decisions regarding the internal allocation of funding, including resources dedicated to compliance with the Official Languages Acts, are a matter for each individual institution. Accordingly, this Department has no role in investigating the costs associated with these measures and has not done so.