Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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3497. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the plans that are in place to ensure additional funding for mná tí; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44398/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The Programme for Government 2025: Securing Ireland’s Future contains a commitment to ‘maintain and where possible enhance support for Mná Tí at Gaeltacht summer colleges’. In this regard, my Department provides a number of supports for households providing accommodation to the colleges sector.

In order to foster language acquisition and enrichment opportunities in the Gaeltacht outside of the post-primary education system for learners of the language, my Department provides a subsidy under the Irish Language Learners Scheme (Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge) payable to qualifying Gaeltacht households who provide accommodation for those attending an Irish course in any one of the c. 40 Irish-language colleges operating under the scheme.

A grant of €13.00 per student per night is paid under Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge to recognised households accommodating learners. This payment is in addition to the fee paid to them separately by the colleges. The nightly rate was increased to €13.00 in 2024 - the third such increase since 2022, and equivalent to an almost 30% increase in the grant since 2020. 41 new households were recognised under Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge in 2024 and all income received by recognised households is free from income-tax.

Newly-recognised households may also avail of a once-off starter grant. This grant supports households with the cost of works required to comply with fire safety requirements, including installation of alarms and fire suppression systems and the purchase of beds and mattresses. The grant is worth up to €6,000 or 80% of costs, whichever is the lesser.

The cap of 12 learners per household per course was also removed in recent years and increased to a maximum of 16 learners per household. This increased capacity for greater numbers of students to attend courses, but also allowed households in a position to accommodate a greater number of learners to increase their income generated from the scheme.

My Department also funds the DEIS Gaeltachta scholarship scheme in order to assist in providing language acquisition opportunities to post-primary school students attending DEIS schools to attend recognised Irish summer colleges. Additional funding was allocated to this initiative since its establishment in 2019 from €50,000 to €900,000 in 2025. With this increase, over 900 scholarships were offered in 2025, and recipients are accommodated in accommodation that is recognised by the Department.

Also administered by my Department is the ERASMUS Gaeltachta fund, worth €250,000, which facilitates opportunities for up to 175 third-level students to spend three months immersed in the Gaeltacht. Under ERASMUS Gaeltachta, a subsidy worth €22 per night towards accommodation costs is provided to enable third-level institutions to offer a semester in the Gaeltacht to their students. Similar to the other aforementioned measures, this subsidy is payable to households providing accommodation under the terms of Scéim na bhFoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge.

It is my intention to continue to support the maintenance and development of this sector where possible, as outlined in the current Programme for Government, over the coming years. A decision has not yet been made regarding amending payments to Mná Tí for 2025.