Urgent clarification is now being sought regarding the future funding structure of Foras na Gaeilge and the North-South arrangement.
Conradh na Gaeilge has criticized the 'serious lack of ambition' shown by the Government in response to the public's demands, as outlined in the #PlanFáis, which was agreed upon by over 130 Irish language and Gaeltacht groups.
- Proposals for Budget 2025: €57m additional funding for the Irish language and Gaeltacht
- In total, an additional €9.9 million has been made available; 16.7% of what was called for(€6.9 million extra for the Department of the Gaeltacht and €3 million extra for TG4).
- The additional €9.9 million represents 17% of the total amount requested in this Budget as part of the public's expectations outlined in the #PleanFáis
- Proposals in the Irish Language & Gaeltacht Growth Plan set a target of 0.4% for the overall percentage of Government expenditure on the sector on Irish / Gaeltacht by 2029, from the baseline of 0.18% in 2024 / 0.19% in 2023
- Rather than increasing the overall percentage of Government expenditure towards 0.4%, the overall percentage of the total state budget spent on Irish/Gaeltacht fell to 0.16%, back to the levels of 2021.
Paula Melvin, President of Conradh na Gaeilge said:
“This is, quite simply, another huge opportunity missed to provide fair and equitable funding for the Irish language and Gaeltacht, ignoring many of the clear priorities set out by local communities. Whilst we welcome the extra €9.9 million that has been allocated to the Irish language, Gaeltacht and TG4 for 2025, this figure is far short of what is needed and what we called for from the Government when we asked them to provide fairness for these areas. This Government was provided with the Plean Fáis, an investment plan for the Gaeltacht and the Irish language 2024-29, agreed by over 130 organisations that lays out a clear path to resource the sector fairly and they are ignoring the basic premise of the plan which is that the base funding for the Irish language and Gaeltacht is historically too low and needs to be increased significantly.”
Julian de Spáinn, Ard-Rúnaí for Conradh na Gaeilge, commented:
“We are extremely disappointed that the comprehensive investment proposals clearly laid out in the #PleanFáis, a plan we have repeatedly presented to Government representatives over the past few months, have not been in any way adequately reflected in this budget. At a time when there has been a significant increase in state expenditure, the percentage of the exchequer being spent on the Irish Language and the Gaeltacht has fallen back to 2021 levels. This is not in line with the vision, energy or commitment of the Irish language and Gaeltacht community who have called on the government to take ambitious action in funding the language. We acknowledge the Minister has today indicated his willingness to put together a plan to double the funding for the Irish language and the Gaeltacht, similar to what has been done for sport. Conradh na Gaeilge accepts that invitation, and we are confident that the recommendations of the #PleanFáis will be central to those discussions. We will be contacting the Minister immediately to start that process. We have also noted that there is no new update regarding the funding for Foras na Gaeilge, which, under the cross-border arrangements, relies on a reciprocal 25% funding coming from the Executive in the north. It is clear that an urgent change is immediately needed in this funding structure, as proposed by Conradh na Gaeilge over recent years, as the current arrangement is no longer suitable for the purpose for which it was established nearly 25 years ago.”
For further information & to download a copy of An Plean Fáis: cnag.ie/plean.
CONTACT & INTERVIEWS:
Kate Ní Dhúbhlaioch, Feidhmeannach Cumarsáide
+353 87 389 8255
6 Sráid Fhearchair, BÁC2 |
Julian de Spáinn, Ard-Rúnaí
+353 (0)86 8142757 | +353 (0)1 4757401
6 Sráid Fhearchair, BÁC 2 |
Róisín Ní Chinnéide, Advocacy Manager
+353 83 4062131
6 Sráid Fhearchair, BÁC 2 |
Social Media:
X: @CnaG #PleanFáis
IG: @cnagaeilge
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Conradh na Gaeilge is the democratic forum for the Irish-speaking community, with over 200 branches and numerous individual members registered around the world, members that work hard to promote the use of Irish in their own areas. Conradh na Gaeilge’s main aim is to promote the use of Irish as the standard language in Ireland. Conradh na Gaeilge was established by Douglas Hyde, Eoin Mac Néill, and their colleagues on the 31st of July 1893. The organisation runs Irish-language courses; advocates for the language rights of Irish-speakers; raises awareness about the language; hosts the international Irish-language festival Seachtain na Gaeilge le Energia; manages the Irish-language information hub PEIG.ie and the Irish-language bookshop An Siopa Leabhar; supports Raidió Rí-Rá; and much more. More information: www.cnag.ie
