Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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1266. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost to fully implement the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021 in all higher education institutions, HEIs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24185/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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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. However it should be noted that 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 those impacted by the Official Languages Acts.

Recurrent grant funding is allocated to these institutions either through the HEA, which disburses funding on behalf of my Department, or via direct grants from my Department to certain institutions. As autonomous entities, decisions regarding the internal allocation of funding – including on resources dedicated to compliance with the Official Languages Acts – are a matter for each individual institution. Accordingly, this Department has no role in centrally investigating these costs.

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

It may also be of interest to the Deputy to note that the HEA 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.

Finally, 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.