Representatives from Irish language groups from across Ireland came together in Dublin today amidst an ongoing nationwide ‘funding crisis’.
Representatives were present at the ‘crisis assembly’ from both local and national groups promoting the Irish language, from Irish language media organisations, and from Irish language planning groups both north and south, all of whom are directly impacted by the recent cuts announced by north-south body Foras na Gaeilge.
The meeting took place as news emerged that the DUP has blocked a proposal to reform the Foras na Gaeilge funding mechanism from appearing on the Executive Agenda five times since the autumn.
That new funding framework was proposed at a meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council in September 2024 and subsequently agreed by both Finance Ministers, requiring final Executive approval, which was not given by the DUP.
That framework would reform the north-south funding model to allow either government to provide additional funds to Foras na Gaeilge above the pre-agreed ratio-based match funding (75% 25%), without the need for equivalent funding from the other government.
Speaking after today’s meeting in Dublin, Julian de Spáinn, General Secretary of Conradh na Gaeilge, said:
“The huge attendance at today’s meeting demonstrates the deep impact that ongoing funding crisis is having on groups in every corner of the country.
“We have a significant problem on our hands, and the recent cuts of €820,000 seems to be the straw that has broken the camel’s back.
“We have been warning for many years that the financial framework underpinning Foras na Gaeilge was unsustainable, especially when set against over 20 years of disinvestment and continuous inflation.
“We have now reached a point where we consider the Foras na Gaeilge funding structure to be broken, and as a direct consequence, Irish language groups on the ground across Ireland have been left with less and less.
“Those groups are now becoming increasingly concerned around their financial capacity to stay afloat, as their own costs increase but their funding decreases.
“The groups were also in total agreement that overturning the €820,000 of cuts, which we are calling for as a first step, will not be enough in any way to solve the outstanding, major structural funding problems of Foras na Gaeilge and the sector as a whole.”
“If the case arises that Foras na Gaeilge cannot be structurally changed, and this presently is in the hands of the DUP, it was agreed that we will clearly need alternative funding mechanisms which would facilitate the allocation of additional funds from the Irish Government directly to communities and organisations.
“We unanimously agreed on the need for an immediate national campaign to bring this issue to a head and finally resolve a funding framework that is no longer fit for purpose.”