The Irish and British governments have been called upon to “urgently resolve” a funding crisis at cross-Border Irish language body Foras na Gaeilge.
The body, which is the main mechanism through which Irish Government spending on the Irish language sector is delivered, announced a series of wide-ranging cuts yesterday.
Despite increased demand for services and higher operating costs, financial support for Foras na Gaeilge has barely increased since the economic crash in 2008, despite improved State finances and increased funding for other agencies.
In a statement released on Friday, it declared an €817,945 shortfall in this year’s budget.
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The body operates with austerity-era cuts remaining largely in effect due to constraints in the cross-Border mechanism which funds it.
Under the arrangement, the Irish Government pays 75 per cent of the body’s annual budget, while Stormont pays 25 per cent.
The cuts announced on Friday will be made to schemes across the country and affect funding to key language organisations and scholarship schemes.
Conradh na Gaeilge, one of the six lead organisations affected by the cuts, has called on both Irish and Northern Irish governments to address the mechanism under which Foras na Gaeilge is funded.
Paula Melvin, president of Conradh na Gaeilge, said: “Since this news broke yesterday morning, we have been contacted by numerous Irish-language communities and groups right across Ireland who are rightly worried and concerned about the future of their projects and their staff.
“Before this latest announcement, those groups have made consistent representations North and South calling for adequate funding to allow them to pay staff, rent offices and heat their premises.
“These cuts make those financial circumstances even worse. Conradh na Gaeilge will do all we can to fight against these cuts and to call on both governments to ensure a permanent solution to a longstanding funding problem is finally agreed.”
Community and advocacy groups have long criticised the current level of financial support for the Irish language as inadequate. They point to increasing public demand for Irish language services and the need to fulfill legislative requirements.
Julian de Spáinn, general secretary of Conradh na Gaeilge, said: “it is abundantly clear to us that Foras na Gaeilge is broken and no longer viable as an effective funding structure”.
“If no new funding framework can be agreed that amends the current North-South match-funding ratios and allows either jurisdiction to provide additional funds to Foras when they so choose, without the equivalent funding for their North/South counterpart, then this crisis will only deepen, and we will be facing more and more cuts, time and time again.
“There are serious questions for both governments which will have long-term repercussions for the future of Foras na Gaeilge itself,” he said.
The funding crisis, he added, can only be remedied by “an urgent solution to that North-South funding framework and long overdue funds for the Irish-language community.”
In a statement released on Friday, Foras declared a €817,945 shortfall in this year’s budget. “Unfortunately, Foras na Gaeilge has no choice but to remove items from the work programme and annual budget and cut back on others,” it said.
Cuts were announced to funding provided to six key organisations working in the area, with responsibilities ranging from the promotion of Irish-medium education to community and economic development.
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