Údarás na Gaeltachta monthly board meeting

The Údarás na Gaeltachta monthly board meeting was held today at the Údarás na Gaeltachta headquarters in Na Forbacha, where funding of almost €1 million was approved for Gaeltacht companies to create 56 jobs in the Gaeltacht areas of Galway and Donegal.

Most of the jobs will be created in companies in the food and beverage, pharmaceutical and manufacturing sectors.

In addition, funding of over €32,000 was approved for eleven community development organisations, to enable them to undertake various community projects and improvement schemes.

Údarás na Gaeltachta chairperson, Mary Uí Chadhain, stated:

“We are happy that we are able to help these Gaeltacht companies, which are developing innovative and imaginative products. We are seeing a wide range of indigenous companies emerging, developing products that are tailored to the domestic market and that are also in demand overseas.”

“It is very important to Údarás na Gaeltachta that we support entrepreneurship in the Gaeltacht and foster an environment where people with a good business idea can bring their vision to fruition, with our assistance.”

Funding was also approved at today’s meeting for the South East Technological University (SETU) to run an Advanced Diploma in Television Production and Digital Media in An Rinn, in the Waterford Gaeltacht, in collaboration with the Gaeltacht television company, Nemeton. This Advanced Diploma has been running for several years; almost 180 students have qualified and there is a high level of employment in the audiovisual sector for those who have obtained a qualification through the course.

Údarás na Gaeltachta Chief Executive, Tomás Ó Síocháin, commented:

“We are delighted to once again support SETU and Nemeton in the provision of this course, which is in line with the aims of the Údarás na Gaeltachta Strategic Plan 2021-2025 and which also aligns with the goals of the Language Planning Process. The development of third level education through Irish is very important to Údarás na Gaeltachta; the provision of Gaeltacht third level education has a beneficial economic impact and a positive linguistic impact on the students and on the local Gaeltacht community. Through this course, we are supporting education provision, the fostering of employment and skills development. We are also satisfied that there will be a particular emphasis on digital media in the Advanced Diploma course in the future, a step that will take this course to the next level and further enhance the students’ skills as they enter the jobs market.”