Conradh na Gaeilge members from Mayo met with local Oireachtas members in Dublin to ask for support for an Irish Language and Gaeltacht Investment Plan which could create 2,000 new jobs.
The ten-hour clinic at Buswells Hotel saw Mayo delegates Sophie Osbourne from Castlebar and Seán Ó'Cionnfhaola sit down with local TDs Dara Calleary and Lisa Chambers and Senators Rose Conway-Walsh and Michelle Mulherin to voice concerns around Irish language and Gaeltacht funding, as Clinic Na Gaeilge came to Kildare Street.
Local Conradh representatives from constituencies across Ireland travelled to the capital to meet TDs and Senators in a bid to secure funding of €5 million for the plan in Budget 2020.
Osbourne said: "Clinic na Gaeilge brings the voice of the Irish-speaking community to the seat of power where they can air the local issues that matter to them most.
"It was good to sit down with Dara, Lisa, Rose and Michelle and encourage them to secure investment in the Irish language and in the Gaeltacht as a priority for the Government in Budget 2020.”
Dr Niall Comer, President of Conradh na Gaeilge, said that the Irish Language and Gaeltacht Investment Plan had been agreed by 88 Irish language and Gaeltacht groups, and would create over 2,000 new jobs, saying: "It will also provide essential resources towards the language planning process and afford the public many opportunities across the country to use Irish."
He added: “Údarás na Gaeltachta, the Gaeltacht employment authority, has seen its capital budget slashed by up to 65% since 2008 and Foras na Gaeilge, the cross-border body promoting Irish, has had a €5 million reduction in funding since 2008. It is time for the Government to reinvest in our Gaeltachts and in our language.”
Further information on the Irish Language and Gaeltacht Investment Plan is available at www.cnag.ie/pleang
