Significant increase in Irish language advertising by public bodies in 2024
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From: Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht
- Published on: 31 October 2025
- Last updated on: 31 October 2025
- Report by Oifig of An Choimisinéara Teanga on the results of a 2024 audit carried out on section 10A (Advertising by Public Bodies) published
- Total expenditure of €19m on Irish language advertising in 2024
- €5.2m spent on Irish advertising on Irish language media in 2024
The Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary T.D., today, 31 October 2025, welcomed the publication of the report by Oifig of An Choimisinéara Teanga on the results of the section 10A (Advertising by Public Bodies) audit for 2024 at Oireachtas na Samhna in Belfast.
This report highlights the key findings of the audit conducted by Oifig an Choimisinéara Teanga into the compliance of 397 public bodies with Section 10A in 2024. The 2024 results show a significant increase in advertising in Irish compared to 2023, demonstrating the commitment to preserving and promoting our heritage. The audit covered 98% of all advertising carried out by public bodies in Ireland in 2024. Key findings include:
- Total expenditure of €19m on Irish language advertising in 2024. This is an increase of €4.7m on the total expenditure on Irish language advertising for 2023.
- €5.2m spent on advertising on Irish language media in 2024, an increase of €1.4m from 2023 expenditure on Irish language media.
Speaking today, Minister Calleary said:
“I welcome the positive results of Oifig an Choimisinéara Teanga which demonstrate the significant progress being made by public bodies in placing greater emphasis on the Irish language in their advertising. The results not only demonstrate that the Act is being complied with, but that the public sector is committed to promoting the Irish language and embedding it into their services.
Additionally, as an unintentional consequence of this provision, we’ve seen a number of new Irish language media come to the fore over the last few years between print and online media and podcasts - further increasing the visibility of the language.
I would like to acknowledge the efforts of the public bodies and I would like to thank the An Coimisinéir Teanga for the valuable insights he provided in his report.”
Section 10A. (Advertising by Public Bodies) of the Official Languages Act, 2003 as amended, places a statutory obligation on public bodies to carry out a significant proportion of their advertising in Irish.
Section 10A prescribes that public bodies must ensure that:
- at least 20% of any advertising they carry out in any year shall be in Irish, and;
- at least 5% of any money they spend on advertising in any year shall be used for advertising in Irish in Irish-language media.
Over 500 public bodies fall within the scope of the Official Languages Act 2003 as amended.
Notes
Link to report on section 10A investigation for the year 2024 (GA/EN)
An Coimisinéir Teanga’s Overview of Initial Results of Article 10A 2023 (the advertising provision) here (GA/EN)
General information on the Official Languages Acts here (GA/EN)
Previous announcements on progress under the Act here (GA/EN)