The Department of Education should allocate €10 per student to increase the collection of Irish language books in school libraries, an Oireachtas committee has recommended.
The measure is one of many featured in a report on Irish language written media published by Coiste na Gaeilge, na Gaeltachta agus Phobal Labhartha na Gaeilge (the Oireachtas subcommittee on Irish and the Gaeltacht regions).
A total of 110 recommendations were made to assist the sector which encompasses Irish language books, magazines, newspapers and other printed media.
The report was also critical of the absence of a dedicated Irish language policy in the National Strategy for Public Libraries 2023-2027, entitled The Library is the Place, published by the Department of Rural and Community Development in June.
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In some local authority areas, the report said expenditure on written material in Irish is less than 1 per cent, and on average amounts to just 1.54 per cent of the overall budget.
This degree of “minimal expenditure”, which the report pointed out falls significantly short of the percentage of the population for whom Irish is their spoken language, was described as “disgraceful”.
Reflecting the ongoing funding challenges in the wider sector, Clár na Leabhar Gaeilge – which provides support for Irish language publishers and writers – received €1.06m in Government funding last year, significantly less than the €1.8m it received before the economic downturn. The report recommends returning funding to 2008 levels.
Foras na Gaeilge’s budget is the main source of funding for publications such as Tuairisc.ie, Nós and literary magazine Comhar. The report says this funding should be increased from €500,000 go €1m “to reverse cuts” inflicted on the sector in the past.
Writing in the report, committee chair Aengus Ó Snodaigh said: “It was clear to the joint committee from the outset of this audit that there was a crisis, particularly in the publishing sector. Between 2008 and 2021, four of the big Irish language publishing houses – An Clóchomhar, Sáirséal Ó Marcaigh, Cló Mhaigh EO and Cois Life – have had to close.”
These were publishers that had provided “excellent Irish language works” to the public.
The report also cited the monthly magazine Feasta, which was forced to close recently after 75 years of publishing due to a lack of financial support.
Mr Ó Snodaigh added that the committee undertook its work “to ensure that the same does not happen to other publishers in the Irish language sector and that they will be supported in their work”.
The report also highlights the additional challenges faced by Irish language journalists due to the State’s “prevailing linguistic bias” including a tendency to publish public information exclusively in English.
This bias was “particularly evident” during the Covid-19 epidemic.
In a measure aimed at improving coverage of issues related to the Irish language in the English-language media, the report states that it would be an advantage if newspapers employed bilingual journalists.
The report says Coimisiún na Meán, Ireland’s media regulator, should develop a scheme to support Irish language journalism within English-language media, setting a target of “at least” one full-time journalist in every national newspaper by 2025.
When contacted by The Irish Times, a spokesman for the Department of Rural and Community Development said the consultation process for the new library strategy “included a specific focus group, held in Irish, on the Irish language”.
The spokesperson added that under the new library strategy, the availability of services and materials in Irish “will be increased in every library authority”.
When asked about a dedicated Irish language policy, the spokesperson said “consideration will be given to drawing up a policy to promote Irish language literature in the libraries”.
The purchase and stocking of Irish language books in public libraries is managed by local authorities, the spokesman said.
“Spending on Irish language material is therefore a local decision and there is no central directive on minimum spend.”
