GAELTACHT areas will “disappear” if capital funding cuts of up to 80 per cent are implemented, Gaeltacht community groups and a development organisation have warned.
Cuts proposed by the Department of Finance would reduce spending through the Department of Gaeltacht Affairs from €149 million in 2008 to €30 million in 2016, the Gaeltacht Co-ops joint committee has said.
This would be the largest cut of any Government department and would result in the shrinking of Gaeltacht areas to the point where they would disappear within five years, committee chairman Gearóid Ó Brosnacháin said.
The cuts were in conflict with Government strategies on the future of the Irish language, Mr Ó Brosnacháin said.
“There is little point in talking about a 20-year Irish language strategy if all the State and community institutions in the Gaeltacht are to be closed down.”
The Gaeltacht Co-ops represent 29 community organisations and development companies employing 140 full-time and 230 part-time staff as well as administering schemes that provide jobs to over 100 people. The committee is calling for €95 million in funding to be maintained.
“This level of funding is essential if the department, Údarás na Gaeltachta and other Gaeltacht organisations are to be in a position to carry out their work effectively,” Mr Ó Brosnacháin said.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Gaeltacht Affairs said the €30 million figure relates to the overall capital spend by the department across its programmes, and not specifically to spending in Gaeltacht areas. No decision had yet been made regarding spending on Gaeltacht programmes for 2011 onwards, she said.
