Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

719. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he or any member of Government plans on attending a protest (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49681/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I can confirm that I did not attend the protest referred to by the Deputy. The Deputy will appreciate that I cannot answer on behalf of other members of Government.

A day of protest was organised last weekend by Irish language organisations from across the island, north and south, to highlight a range of issues of concern to Irish speaking and Gaeltacht communities, namely, funding for the sector, access to Irish-medium education, the implementation of legislation and access to public services, and housing in Gaeltacht areas.

As access to Irish-medium education is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Education, I am not in a position to comment on same.

Funding for the Irish Language Sector

Funding for the North-South Language Body, including Foras na Gaeilge, is approved by the North-South Ministerial Council (NSMC) and requires match funding and agreement of the Northern Ireland Executive. The Irish Government cannot unilaterally amend the budgets or funding ratios of North South Implementation Bodies. We are, however, conscious of the different economic and political circumstances that exist within both jurisdictions and officials from the sponsor Departments in both jurisdictions are in weekly contact at this stage in an effort to resolve funding issues faced by Foras na Gaeilge.

Notwithstanding this, the Government has provided significant additional funding for the Irish language and the Gaeltacht each year since 2020, with funding doubled in the past 5 years. While Foras na Gaeilge has largely not been able to benefit directly from these increases, the Government has initiated a variety of schemes and programmes to ensure the funding reaches the organisations working on the ground with Irish language and Gaeltacht communities across the country.

In this context, a significant amount of this funding is being provided to some of the Irish language lead organisations, which are also part-funded by Foras na Gaeilge. The Government has also provided over €2m in additional funding to Foras na Gaeilge specifically to support the Irish language publishing sector under Clár na Leabhar Gaeilge, a programme which is not subject to co-funding arrangements and is entirely funded by the Irish Government.

The Government has also provided significant funding for a series of initiatives being delivered by the lead organisations (such as Conradh na Gaeilge, Glór na nGael and Gael Linn), who receive their core funding from Foras na Gaeilge but were being limited due to the financial challenges at Foras.

Significant supports are also being provided to Irish speaking communities, both inside and outside the Gaeltacht, through the language planning process, administered by Údarás na Gaeltachta and Foras na Gaeilge in conjunction with community groups.

Language Rights

The Irish Government has long supported and raised the matter of language rights in Northern Ireland with political leaders in the North and the British Government, particularly during negotiations to restore the power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive.

The first ever Irish Language Commissioner for Northern Ireland is due to be appointed shortly. This marks significant progress for language rights in the north.

South of the border, the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2001 has introduced a series of important changes and new measures as part of the overall ecosystem that the Act seeks to develop towards a fully bilingual public service.

Historic and innovative work is underway under the Official Languages Act towards a fully bilingual public service, following the amendments enacted in 2021. The government has published the first ever National Plan for Irish Language Public Services in the history of the State and, by the end of the year, will publish the first associated Action Plan.

The Deputy will have noticed the increased use of Irish language in advertisements across all media, which is a practical demonstration of the impact of the Official Languages Act and our commitment to the language.

A number of other positive things will emerge between now and the end of the year, namely:

• the publication of the first Action Plan under the National Plan for Irish Language Public Services;
• commencement of the consultation process on the draft Language Standards;
• publication of guidelines to support public bodies in the implementation of the Act;
• publication of an updated list of public bodies and organisations that are under the remit of the Act;
• the setting of dates in relation to the operation/availability of Gaeltacht public offices and services through Irish.