Irish language advocates float plan to create 9,000 jobs in Gaeltacht areas

Conradh na Gaeilge has said Gaeltacht areas could be revitalised with the creation of 9,000 jobs by 2029 if the Government agrees to increase annual funding by €198 million over the next five years.

An Plean Fáis 2024-2029, published in Dublin on Wednesday, proposes increasing State spending on the Irish language from 0.2 to 0.4 per cent of annual expenditure over the course of the five-year plan.

The advocacy group’s plan proposes investment in the arts, Gaeltacht housing and work schemes, as well as funding for Irish language centres and scholarships for adults to learn Irish.

The plan would see an increase in expenditure from some €94 million this year to €248 million by 2029 for the Department of the Gaeltacht, Gaeltacht development agency Údarás na Gaeltachta, and Foras na Gaeilge. It also proposes an increase of £22 million (€25.5 million) in spending on Irish language initiatives in Northern Ireland.

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Speaking in advance of the plan’s publication, Conradh na Gaeilge general secretary Julian de Spáinn said: “If we are really serious as a country that we want to reverse the decrease in daily speakers of the language [and] the decline in the Gaeltacht, and support and encourage those with an interest in learning and using the language, then we need to invest in that goal.”

The 72-page plan is the product of months of preparation and has been endorsed by 138 Irish language and Gaeltacht groups.

It proposes additional investment in Gaeltacht areas aimed at improving access to services, resources and community activities in Irish and helping to ensure the sustainability of linguistic communities across the island.

“The vast majority of the jobs that would be created arising from the investment plan would be in Gaeltacht areas through Údarás na Gaeltachta, but there would also be many jobs created for Irish language co-ordination and support for communities in towns and cities throughout the country,” Mr de Spáinn said.

Conradh na Gaeilge says the low level of spending on the Irish language sector over the years represents a “lack of ambition” on the part of the State. Citing the case of Foras na Gaeilge, which oversees funding to the Irish sector, Conradh says it has seen its budget decrease over the last 20 years from €17.18 million in 2003 to €16.265 million this year.

Funding provided to Foras na Gaeilge in 2003 was 2½ times less than given to the Arts Council (€44.1 million). However, Arts Council funding now, at €130 million, is about eight times greater than that received by Foras na Gaeilge.

Údarás na Gaeltachta’s capital budget decreased from €25.5 million in 2008 to €14.5 million in 2021, down 43 per cent.

In the same time frame, Conradh points out, the IDA’s budget has increased by 66 per cent while Enterprise Ireland’s is up by some 30 per cent.

Seachtain na Gaeilge, the biggest annual Irish language festival, is another example cited by Conradh na Gaeilge. It is provided with a budget of some €25,000, compared with allocated funding of €900,000 per year for the St Patrick’s Festival.

The additional investment proposed in An Plean Fáis also includes finance for support infrastructure and the appointment of language officers in Gaeltacht service towns. There are 16 Gaeltacht service towns in total, three in Gaeltacht areas and 13 outside.

The Irish language is seen as a unique selling point and a cultural asset that could be exploited in these towns to promote a positive image while attracting cultural tourism.

A grant of €5,000 per year is also proposed for Gaeltacht households that partake in a proposed Irish language scheme to help parents pay for childcare costs, or to help a parent who can speak Irish to mind their children at home.

The plan would also see a fundamental reorganisation of how funds are allocated in the North, where funding has been impacted by the DUP‘s refusal to participate in powersharing in the Stormont executive.

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“The current system based on the North-South agreement between the two governments is not working,” Mr de Spáinn said.

“The funding of the Foras is caught up in the politics in the North and is also, to a point, reliant on both economies North and South being successful at the same time for additional funding. The development of the Irish language North and South has been hindered because of this over the last 20 years.”