• Over 800 Gaeltacht scholarships available to students in 2025
• Scholarship for three-week course worth up to €950 or 85% of the total course fee
The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, and the Minister of State for the Gaeltacht, Thomas Byrne TD, announced today that they have approved a fund of €900,000 to significantly expand the scholarship fund for students in DEIS post-primary schools across the country to attend Irish language courses in the Gaeltacht during the summer of 2025.
The DEIS Gaeltachta Scheme started in 2019 when 50 scholarships were available under the Scheme. Under the additional fund that has been approved, over 800 students per year from DEIS post-primary schools across the country will be able to benefit from Irish-language learning courses in the Gaeltacht.
The scholarship for a three-week course that will be provided under the fund is worth up to €950 or 85% of the total course fee. The scheme will be administered on behalf of the Department by the Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board (GRETB) as has been the case since 2019.
Minister Martin said:
“The DEIS Gaeltachta scheme has been in great demand since it was established in 2019, when 50 scholarships were available, and we are delighted to announce that there will be more than 800 scholarships available in 2025. This scheme is of considerable importance as it creates more opportunities for young people who might not normally have the opportunity to attend a summer course. This scheme not only benefits of the Irish language and the Gaeltacht, but also the community as a whole as it strengthens and promotes social inclusion.”
Minister of State Byrne said:
“As a result of the significant increase in the DEIS Gaeltachta fund, around 800 students per year from DEIS post-primary schools outside the Gaeltacht will have the opportunity to attend Irish language courses in the Gaeltacht. We are delighted to announce an increase in the value of each scholarship from €850 to €950 for a three-week course. The increase in the value of the scholarship is in recognition of the need to bridge the gap between course fees and the scholarship itself. Measures like this are particularly important in terms of accessibility, equality and inclusion.”
The DEIS Gaeltachta fund was established in 2019 when €50,000 was made available to give DEIS post-primary school students the opportunity to attend one of the Irish language courses recognized by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. The scholarship scheme has been very popular in recent years. As a result of the policy that has been announced, approximately 800 scholarships per year will be available instead of the 400 that have existed in recent years.
This step is in accordance with the specific commitment in the Irish Language Action Plan 2018-2022 regarding the Irish language colleges sector. The arrangements for the implementation of the measure are already in place with the GRETB, who expect to share the announcement about the new funding with schools soon.
It is expected that the GRETB will start accepting applications for the DEIS Gaeltachta scholarships from the beginning of next month.
This policy and others announced earlier this year mean that the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media will be investing more than €6m annually in this sector for the benefit of the Irish language and the Gaeltacht.