Rialtas na hÉireann & Foras na Gaeilge | Government of Ireland & Foras na Gaeilge

Rialtas na hÉireann | Government of Ireland

The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media is a government department in Ireland responsible for various cultural and recreational sectors. One of its key areas of focus is the Gaeltacht and the Irish language. 

The Gaeltacht refers to primarily Irish-speaking regions in Ireland, mostly located along the western seaboard. These areas are recognised for their importance in preserving and promoting the Irish language and culture. 

The department’s responsibilities regarding the Gaeltacht and Irish language include: 

1. Promoting and preserving the Irish language: This involves implementing policies and initiatives to encourage the use of Irish in daily life, both within and outside the Gaeltacht regions. 
2. Supporting Gaeltacht communities: The department provides funding and resources to maintain and develop Gaeltacht areas which includes the support of Údarás na Gaeltachta which is a regional state agency operating under the department’s aegis, responsible for the economic, social, and cultural development of the Gaeltacht regions. 
3. Irish language education: Working with the Department of Education to support Irish-medium schools (Gaelscoileanna) and promote Irish language learning across the country. 
4. Implementing the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language: This long-term plan aims to increase the number of daily Irish speakers and strengthen the language’s position in society.
5. Promotes the Irish language in the EU and across Europe by supporting a number of measures aimed at strengthening Irish’s position as a modern European language and increasing its visibility and use at EU level.
6. Supporting Irish language media: This includes funding for Irish language broadcasting services like TG4 (the Irish language television channel), Raidió na Gaeltachta (national Irish language radio service) and Raidió RíRá (Irish language youth radio service). 
7. Overseeing the Official Languages Act: This legislation ensures that public bodies provide services through Irish and English, promoting bilingualism in public administration. 

The department’s work in these areas is crucial for maintaining Ireland’s linguistic heritage and ensuring the continued vitality of the Irish language in modern Irish society.

The Government of Ireland shares full membership status within the Network with Foras na Gaeilge.

FORAS NA GAEILGE:

Foras na Gaeilge was established on 2^nd December 1999 as the agency responsible for the promotion of Irish throughout Ireland. It is part of the Language Body (An Foras Teanga), one of six North/South implementation bodies that operate under the policy direction of the North/South Ministerial Council, which was set up under the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. The other part of the Language Body is the Ulster-Scots Agency. We are responsible for the following functions, as set out in the British-Irish Agreement Act, 1999: 

• Promoting the Irish language.
• Facilitating and encouraging its use in speech and writing in public and private life in the South and, in the context of Part III of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, in the North where there is appropriate demand.
• Advising the two administrations, public bodies and other groups in the private and voluntary sector.
• Undertaking support projects and providing grant aid to bodies and groups as will be considered necessary.
• Undertaking research, promotional campaigns, and public and media relations.
• Developing terminology and dictionaries.
• Supporting Irish-medium education and the teaching of Irish.

These functions are carried out through work that we do directly, through grants that we provide to Irish language organisations, and through financial support that we provide to community groups. We fund six Irish language ‘lead organisations’ responsible for promoting Irish in different domains of life.