Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs

The Irish Language

The Irish language is a vital part of the living heritage of the State and an important natural resource in the Gaeltacht. A core task of the Department is to promote

• the cultural, economic and social welfare of the Gaeltacht as the main source of the living language;
• the reversal of the decline of Irish as the principal means of communication in the Gaeltacht; and
• the extension of its use in the rest of the country, both North and South.

The Department supports and works closely with other agencies, particularly An Foras Teanga and Údarás na Gaeltachta, in pursuing its objectives.

Ciste na Gaeilge is a fund from which Irish language organisations and various Irish initiatives are grant-aided.

The Official Languages Act was signed into law in 2003. The Act provides a statutory framework for the delivery of services through the Irish Language.

The Placenames Branch researches the placenames of Ireland and provides authoritative Irish language forms of those placenames.

Colmcille is a tripartite initiative, which comes under the remit of Foras na Gaeilge (one of the two Agencies of An Foras Teanga), the main objectives of which comprise strengthening the links between Ireland (North and South) and Scotland in addition to the promotion of the Irish and Scots Gaelic languages.

20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language (Draft)

A copy of the draft 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010 - 2030 is available at the following link. 

This document will be discussed shortly at a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

Draft Strategy (541 kb)

Analysis by Consultants for the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language

Fiontar DCU - Analysis (1,387 kb)