From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
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The Minister of State for the Gaeltacht, Patrick O’Donovan, announced today (22 December 2023) that he is providing a grant of up to €54,335 or 95% of the total cost, to Muintir Chrónáin, who are based in the Áras Chrónáin cultural centre, under the Capital Programme of the department's Irish Language Support Schemes to enable them to conduct a feasibility study regarding the development of early years facilities and services through Irish in Clondalkin.
Clondalkin is designated as an Irish Language Networks in the Gaeltacht Act 2012, with a Language Plan having been prepared for it and approved in 2020. The primary aim of the Language Plan is to increase the use of Irish as a community language in the network on an incremental basis and specific reference is made in the plan to the development of early years facilities and services under Measure B.4.
This development would encourage and support the Clondalkin community to pass Irish on to the next generation as a spoken language, as a family language and as a community language in accordance with the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language.
Minister of State O’Donovan had this to say as he announced the grant:
“The results of Census 2022 show that a large number of Irish speakers live in Dublin. The amount of people who reported that they could speak Irish was 467,679 – an increase of 8% on the 2016 figures. Within that figure, 16,440 said that they speak Irish daily and 26,624 said that they speak it weekly.
"Every measure must be taken to support these people, especially those raising their families with Irish. To that end, I am delighted, as Minister of State, that my department is able to provide this grant to Muintir Chrónáin to support and enable the organisation to take the next step in expanding the area’s early years services by completing this feasibility study. I congratulate the organisation on their efforts in this space and I look forward to seeing the results of this work in the coming period.”
The government’s commitment to delivering projects like this is evident in the measures it has included around the development of Irish Language Centres and similar facilities across the country in the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future, in the National Development Plan 2021-2030 under Project Ireland 2040 and in the Action Plan for the Irish Language 2018-2022 under the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030.
This grant was specifically approved under the Capital Programme of the Irish Language Support Schemes for organisations based outside of the Gaeltacht. Under the programme, a grant of up to 95% can be approved for projects relating to early years in Gaeltacht Service Towns or in Irish Language Networks, with more information available on the Programme available.