Minister of State Jack Chambers launches 2021 Annual Progress Report on the Action Plan for the Irish Language 2018-2022

Jack Chambers, Government Chief Whip and Minister of State for the Gaeltacht and Sport, today launched the third annual report on the progress of the Irish Language Action Plan 2018-2022 on behalf of the government at Oireachtas na Samhna 2022 in Killarney.

This third report provides insight into the progress made over 2021 on the implementation of the 180 measures contained in the plan itself which was published in June 2018. The publication of the report, which was submitted to the government recently, is in line with the commitment made when the Action Plan itself was launched in June 2018 that such a report would be published annually, for the sake of transparency and accountability.

Although significant progress is reported in the plan - despite the pandemic, a decision has been taken to add an additional year to the life of the plan so that interested parties have the opportunity to implement the measures and address any delays that have arisen as a result of the pandemic.

Key achievements in 2021 include:

expansion of participation in the e-Hub project which aims to provide students with access to a wider range of subjects
school leaders and teachers in participating schools continued to have access to a wide range of CPD courses delivered virtually
the department's support services for teachers and agencies such as the National Educational Psychology Service and the National Council for Special Education continued to increase their ability to provide support to Gaeltacht schools and all-Irish schools outside the Gaeltacht
by the end of 2021 a total of 32 language plans were approved for 25 Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas, 4 Gaeltacht Service Towns and 3 Irish Language Networks (7 of which were approved in 2021)
19 Language Planning Officers and 4 Assistant Language Planning Officers were employed under the process at the end of December 2021
in 2021, 2,323 Gaeltacht children benefited from actions organised by Tuismitheoirí na Gaeltachta with the support of the department
there were 55 active groups within the Teanga Tí Scheme during 2021, 12 Teanga Tí groups were established within GAA Clubs
capital funding at a rate of 95% was provided for 6 early years services in the Gaeltacht under the department's Clár Tacaíochtaí Pobail agus Teanga
Scéim Phobal na Gaeilge came to an end at the end of 2021 and a new scheme was announced, Scéim Forbartha Líonra na Gaeilge. Under the new scheme, funding will be provided for 38 different grants, 8 at the lowest level, 19 at the medium level and 9 at the highest level
RTÉ continued to operate Home School Hub online, to meet the needs of the country's primary school children during COVID-19
Tech Féile was held online in March 2021
TG4 continued to commission and broadcast content for the Irish speaking community
during 2021, the Royal Irish Academy provided 25 million digitised words to the Foras na Gaeilge Dictionary editorial team, which is a significant collaboration between the two organisations
Foclóir Uí Chadhain, a dialectical dictionary that has never been published before, was launched in June 2021. There are half a million words, which have been made available online for free, on the purpose-built platform focloiruchadhain.ria.ie
the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021 was signed into law on 22 December 2021
the derogation of the use of Irish in the EU ended on 31 December 2021. Around 200 people are now employed in high quality jobs in Irish language units in EU institutions
825 new full-time jobs were created in Údarás na Gaeltachta client companies in 2021
there were 7,809 full-time jobs and 485 part-time jobs in companies that receive support from Údarás at the end of 2021. When job cuts are taken into account, there is a net increase of 446 in the total number of employed persons – the highest net annual increase since 1996
a vital and intuitive investment was made in the business infrastructure of the Gaeltacht in the gteic network and despite the COVID-19 restrictions over 320 people, over 180 of whom are not included in the employment figures, were working in the 27 digital hubs that had been developed at the end 2021
the Board of Údarás na Gaeltachta approved State investment of €8.07 million in employment, plant, training and education grants during 2021
up to €13.75 million in capital provision was approved during 2021 to restore and develop the business infrastructure of the Gaeltacht to help develop employment and new initiatives

Minister of State Jack Chambers said:

"I am delighted to launch this report at the Oireachtas na Samhna this year. This event, the biggest in the Irish language calendar, has been canceled for the past two years and this is my first Oireachtas as Minister of State.

"The Action Plan itself is an ambitious and challenging plan that consists of over 180 actions that are being implemented in collaboration with 60 interested parties for the overall benefit of the Irish language and the Gaeltacht. Although this is the case, it can be seen from the two annual reports that my department has already published on the subject on behalf of the government, that progress has been made and is being made during this time in the interest of the implementation of the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010- 2030 and for the benefit of the Irish language and the Gaeltacht.

"Since I was appointed as Minister of State for the Gaeltacht, I am proud to see that the goals set in this plan are being achieved year after year, despite the particular difficulties of the last two years as a result of the pandemic. I would like to acknowledge the role of the various stakeholders in implementing this plan; including the collaboration and partnership that is evident on a cross-governmental and cross-departmental basis."

More information is available about the Action Plan and the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030 at the following link: 2018-2022

Read the full report.

Notes

The following is a general overview of the progress made in relation to the main areas of action of the plan.

Action Area 1: Education

the department's Aonad Oideachas Gaeltachta continued to provide ongoing advice and support to schools participating in the Scéim Aitheantais Scoileanna Gaeltachta in collaboration with the department's Inspectorate and An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta (COGG) during 2021. There were high participation rates in the Scheme once again: 80% of primary schools and 100% of post-primary schools. Those primary schools that chose not to participate in the Scheme were given another opportunity to participate in 2021
work began on the process to validate the formal recognition of the schools as Gaeltacht Schools
participation in the e-Hub project was expanded which aims to provide students with access to a wider range of subjects
school leaders and teachers in participating schools continued to have access to a wide range of CPD courses delivered virtually
annual circulars, instructions for schools and a comprehensive case study report on primary and post-primary schools participating in the Scheme were published in 2021
the department's support services for teachers and agencies such as the National Educational Psychology Service and the National Council for Special Education continued to increase their ability to provide support to Gaeltacht schools and all-Irish schools outside the Gaeltacht

Action Area 2: An Ghaeltacht

by the end of 2021 a total of 32 language plans were approved for 25 Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas, 4 Gaeltacht Service Towns and 3 Irish Language Networks (7 of which were approved in 2021)
19 Language Planning Officers and 4 Assistant Language Planning Officers were employed under the process at the end of December 2021
the implementation of Language Plans was promoted in relation to 3 Irish Language Networks
the department's Clár Tacaíochta Pobail agus Teanga continued to be used to support the language planning process

Action Area 3: Promotion of the Irish Language within Families – Early Intervention

capital funding at a rate of 95% was provided for 6 early years services in the Gaeltacht under the department's Clár Tacaíochtaí Pobail agus Teanga
in 2021, 2,323 Gaeltacht children benefited from actions organised by Tuismitheoirí na Gaeltachta with the support of the department
a research project was completed on families within the Gaeltacht whose home language is Irish
there were 55 active groups within the Teanga Tí Scheme during 2021, 12 Teanga Tí groups were established within GAA Clubs
additional resources were provided on the website
the resources included supports for play groups, children under 3 years of age and language awareness material

Action Area 4: Administration, Services and Community

Scéim Phobal na Gaeilge came to an end at the end of 2021 and a new scheme was announced, Scéim Forbartha Líonra na Gaeilge. Under the new scheme, funding will be provided for 38 different grants, 8 at the lowest level, 19 at the medium level and 9 at the highest level
due to an increase in provision in the 2021 budget, €3.5 million was made available
Foras na Gaeilge provided funding for 77 approved summer camps during 2021
87 grants were approved under Scéim na gCampaí Samhraidh and Scéim na nImeachtaí Óige for the 2020/2021 school year

Action Area 5: Media and Technology

RTÉ continued to operate Home School Hub online, to meet the needs of the country's primary school children during COVID-19
TG4 continued to commission and broadcast content for the Irish language community
an Irish language navigation system is now available on the RTÉ Player
funding continued for the online news service Tuairisc.ie and the popular music station Raidió Rí Rá in 2021
Tech Féile was held online in March 2021
additional funding was approved for the European Language Resources Infrastructure project at the beginning of April 2021 for 21 months. Linguistic data collection continued towards improvements in computer translation and related technologies
significant funding continued to be invested in Irish language technology research at Dublin City University and Trinity College, Dublin in 2021
the Tomás Ó Máille Collections were digitised with funding from the DTCAGSM. In addition, Roinn na Gaeilge in NUI Galway commissioned a curator to create an exhibition about the life and work of Tomás Ó Máille

Action Area 6: Dictionaries

during 2021, the Royal Irish Academy provided 25 million digitised words to the Foras na Gaeilge Dictionary editorial team, which is a significant collaboration between the two organisations
Foclóir Uí Chadhain, a dialectical dictionary that has never been published before, was launched in June 2021. There are half a million words, which have been made available online for free, on the purpose-built platform focloiruchadhain.ria.ie
the Coiste Téarmaíochta approved over 3,600 new or revised terms
funding continued for the successful European terminology project LEX

Action Area 7: Legislation and Status

the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021 was signed into law on 22 December 2021
the derogation of the use of Irish in the EU ended on 31 December 2021. Around 170 people are now employed in high quality jobs in Irish language units in EU institutions

Action Area 8: Economy

825 new full-time jobs were created in Údarás na Gaeltachta client companies in 2021
there were 7,809 full-time jobs and 485 part-time jobs in companies that receive support from Údarás at the end of 2021. When job cuts are taken into account, there is a net increase of 446 in the total number of employed persons – the highest net annual increase since 1996
administrative funding of €2.816 million was made available to 33 community development organisations
a vital and intuitive investment was made in the business infrastructure of the Gaeltacht in the gteic network and despite the COVID-19 restrictions over 320 people, over 180 of whom are not included in the employment figures, were working in the 27 digital hubs that had been developed at the end 2021
the Board of Údarás na Gaeltachta approved State investment of €8.07 million in employment, plant, training and education grants during 2021
up to €13.75 million in capital provision was approved during 2021 to restore and develop the business infrastructure of the Gaeltacht to help develop employment and new initiatives

Of the 185 actions in the Plan, 61 actions were to be implemented between 2018 and the end of 2021 as shown in the graph above.