Paul Lawless (Mayo, Aontú)
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68. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he is satisfied that the €2 million increase for Foras na Gaeilge in Budget 2026 is sufficient to resolve the persistent North/South funding crisis which restricts the organisation’s operations; and the urgent steps that will be taken to ensure language organisations are not forced to impose further staff or service cuts due to funding instability. [64502/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The North-South Language Body, comprising Foras na Gaeilge and the Ulster-Scots Agency, is co-funded by my Department on behalf of the Government of Ireland, and by the Department for Communities on behalf of the Northern Ireland Executive. Budgets for the North South Institutions, including An Foras Teanga, are approved by the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC).

I attended a meeting of the NSMC in the Monaghan Peace Campus yesterday, 3 December at which the 2026 Business Plans and budgets for Foras na Gaeilge and the Ulster-Scots Agency were agreed. This enables an agreed funding allocation of €20 million between Foras na Gaeilge and the Ulster-Scots Agency for 2026.

The approved business plans provide for ring-fenced funding to be made available by my Department to Foras na Gaeilge and the Ulster Language Agency to run specific programmes and activities in 2026. This includes the additional €2 million secured for North South co-operation in Budget 2026.

I am happy to announce that the funding for Clár na Leabhar Gaeilge will be increased to €2 million in 2026, the highest level ever, while funding of over €2 million will be made available for Foras na Gaeilge’s other activities.

€200,000 will be made available to the Ulster Agency for projects related to specific activities in Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan, and further south in due course.

The approval of the Language Body's business plans and budgets for 2026 provides certainty to both agencies and to the organisations and community groups across the island who benefit from the support and funding schemes they provide.