merrion street

The Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs, Seán Kyne T.D., has welcomed the 2016 results published by Údarás na Gaeltachta today (23 January 2016).

“I welcome the positive employment figures shown once again by An tÚdarás this year,” said the Minister of State, “and believe it to be a clear indicator of the Government’s commitment to drive forward matters of development and employment in regional and rural areas. Údarás na Gaeltachta will play a central role in implementing the Action Plan for Rural Ireland. It is encouraging to see that employment levels remain stable in the Gaeltacht areas and that the number of new businesses established there continues to grow, with 36 new companies starting out in 2016, creating a total of 100 new jobs by the end of the year. By working in cooperation with my Department it is expected that this could be increased further over the coming years in the context of the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030. I am particularly pleased with the 559 new full-time positions created in client companies of Údarás na Gaeltachta in 2016 and the 7,963 positions held at years end in companies supported by An tÚdarás, 7,348 of which were full-time and 615 of which were part-time.

“Of particular delight this year also,” said the Minister of State, “was the completion and official opening of Ionad Cultúrtha an Phiarsaigh, Conamara as one of the permanent reminders of the 1916 Centenary Celebrations. In this regard, Údarás na Gaeltacht deserve specific praise and gratitude for overseeing the development of this major project.’’
The Minister of State also made reference to the 2.4 million euro in additional funding he secured for Údarás na Gaeltachta’s capital budget during 2016. “I am satisfied that this helped the Údarás to retain jobs in their client companies in the Gaeltacht and to attract more investment to Gaeltacht areas. In that regard, I understand that Údarás aims to create 500 new jobs in the Gaeltacht in 2017.”

The Minister of State acknowledged in particular the progress made by Údarás na Gaeltachta during 2016 on the implementation of the language planning process in the Gaeltacht, in conjunction with the community organisations on the ground. “This is very important work in the context of meeting the Gaeltacht objectives of the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030 and I am pleased that An tÚdarás is prioritising the process in the 23 Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas for which notices have been made to date,” said the Minister of State.