Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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3397. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide a breakdown of his Department’s annual funding of €900,000 to support the expansion of the Irish language by students and staff in HEI’s for 2024 and 2025, specifically the amount allocated as block grants per institute; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42996/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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My Department allocates recurrent funding to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to higher education institutions. The HEA allocates this as a block grant to institutions to cover teaching, research, and supporting activities. The grant is allocated through a funding formula, which is driven by audited prior-year student numbers. Included in these grant numbers are students who are studying Irish or students whose studies are conducted through Irish. The internal allocation of the block grant is a matter for each institution.

In addition to block grant funding, top-sliced or ring-fenced allocations for specific strategic or important purposes are earmarked from time to time by Departments or by the HEA. These allocations include funding for Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge and the HEA’s special provision for the support of the Irish language.

The ‘special provision for the support of the Irish language’ is an annual allocation of €900,000 aimed at supporting a greater use of the Irish language among students and staff of universities and smaller colleges. Please find attached a breakdown of the allocations under this initiative in 2024 and the proposed allocations in 2025.

Through the HEA, my Department is committed to ensuring that Institutions have both the resources and autonomy to integrate the Irish language into their offerings and campus life.

Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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3398. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide a breakdown of the annual funding of €1.8 million from the HEA for the development of Acadamh na hOllscolaiochta Gaeilge at University of Galway for 2024 and 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42997/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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The Higher Education Authority (HEA) distributes funding for the development of Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge at the University of Galway. My Department contributes c€1.8 million annually to this, with additional funding coming from the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht.

It should be noted that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are autonomous in their Irish language strategies, including the provision and expansion of university courses offered through the Irish language. As the funds in question are allocated to the University of Galway each year, this information is not provided in tabular form. The internal allocation of funding provided to the University of Galway in respect of Acadamh na hOllscolaiochta Gaeilge is a matter for the institution, which is administratively autonomous. If more detailed information is required, it is recommended that the institution be contacted directly.

An earmarked allocation of €1,766,000 is annually allocated to the University of Galway for the Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge for the last number of years. €1.766m was allocated to the University of Galway in 2024 and the same amount is proposed in 2025.

The funding is provided to the University of Galway to support the activities of the Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta. In addition, the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht also provides funding to support the activities of the Acadamh.