17. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the way in which the recently announced investment of over €5.3 million for Gaeltacht initiatives will support the intergenerational transmission of Irish and strengthen the use of the language as a living community language both within Gaeltacht areas and in recognised Irish-language communities outside the Gaeltacht; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53294/26]

The funding of over €5.3 million that I recently announced was allocated by my Department through the Language and Community Supports Programme to further support two long-standing Departmental schemes in our efforts to support intergenerational language transmission and strengthen Irish as a living community language.

The Language Assistants’ Scheme is an additional support for the language planning process. It is available within the Gaeltacht to every school, which participates in the Department of Education and Youth’s Gaeltacht Schools Recognition Scheme (GSRS). Outside of the Gaeltacht, the scheme is available to Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí located in the areas recognised as Gaeltacht Service Towns or Irish Language Networks. Grants totalling up to €4.02m have now been approved for the three lead organisations who will administer the scheme over a two-year period.

The long-standing Summer Camps Scheme supports community committees to run Irish-language camps for young people within the Gaeltacht. This scheme serves young people in all Gaeltacht areas, and around 165 camps are provided every summer to around 6,500 young people. Muintearas Teo administer the scheme and the recent announcement includes a grant increase for the first time in many years. A 3-year grant worth up to €1,308,039 or €436,013 per year has now been approved, and as part of that improved grant , an increase of €10 has been approved in the subsidy rate paid to committees for every participant, from €45 to €55 per participant for a weeklong camp.

It takes a language ecosystem to support intergenerational language transmission and the Language Assistants’ Scheme and the Summer Camps Scheme are important foundations in my Department’s efforts to develop that ecosystem. The Language Assistants’ Scheme undoubtedly plays a central role in the work to strengthen Irish as a community and family language both inside and outside of the Gaeltacht by supporting language acquisition and enrichment amongst students in Irish medium education. The main goal of the Summer Camps Scheme is to create social and educational opportunities for young people in the Gaeltacht through Irish. That ties in specifically with the objectives of the language planning process, and it is very important that these opportunities be accessible and affordable to families raising children with Irish in the Gaeltacht.