Six lead organisations providing key support services for the Irish language across Ireland have withdrawn from a formal partnership structure where activities and services are co-ordinated.
Facing what a spokesman referred to as an “existential threat” due to a severe funding crisis, the six organisations said they decided to withdraw from Foras na Gaeilge’s Partnership Forum until progress is made in resolving the funding shortfall.
The six organisations (Conradh na Gaeilge, Cumann na bhFiann, Gael Linn, Gaeloideachas, Glór na nGael and Oireachtas na Gaeilge) say more than €1 million has been cut from their budgets since 2015.
Earlier this year, Foras na Gaeilge, the agency tasked with providing funding to the organisations, announced it was facing a shortfall itself of several hundred thousand euro.
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Under current funding arrangements, Foras na Gaeilge is funded according to a cross-Border model in which Dublin and Stormont must maintain a strict 75:25 ratio.
The Irish Government provides three-quarters of the annual budget and the Stormont Executive contributes the remainder.
Any increases must preserve this ratio, and efforts to boost the budget have faced opposition from the DUP at Stormont.
Speaking on behalf of the six organisations on Thursday, Julian de Spáinn, general secretary of Conradh na Gaeilge, said “every lead Irish language organisation is in financial difficulty”.
“Some are asking if they can pay their insurance, their rent, or if they can pay for overheads,” Mr de Spáinn said.
“When it comes to Conradh na Gaeilge, Seachtain na Gaeilge, which is the largest international festival for Irish, will have no funding next year.”
“In 2015, Foras na Gaeilge would have provided funding of nearly €50,000, this year we had €13,000 and that’s down to zero now,” he said.
“We don’t have a penny. The budget for the services we provide has been emptied at this point.”
Mr de Spáinn said the organisations were withdrawing from the forum until progress is made for funding of the lead organisations and other organisations.
He said Foras na Gaeilge had been informed that the organisations have “serious doubts” about the future of the joint partnership structure.
The situation will be considerably worse next year, he warned, as some organisations could be left without enough funding to cover their basic costs.
Mr de Spáinn said funding needs to be “properly secured” before the partnership system can operate effectively.
“In terms of the formal structure, when it was established we were told that a basic budget was agreed and would grow over time, whereas the opposite has been the case.”
The six organisations are seeking meetings with Minister for the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary, and with the Minister for Communities in Northern Ireland, Gordon Lyons, to discuss the situation.
