From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
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The Minister of State for the Gaeltacht and Sport, Jack Chambers, launched the Baile Átha Cliath le Gaeilge website and initiative at an event in the Mansion House this evening, Saturday, 22 October 2022. Minister of State Chambers approved €325,000 for Conradh na Gaeilge to establish and develop the Baile Átha Cliath (BÁC) le Gaeilge project for the period 2021 to 2024.
A large Irish community and a wide range of Irish language organisations are located in Dublin city, and accordingly, the main goal of BÁC le Gaeilge is to promote and strengthen the language in Dublin, among the business community and in the community as a whole.
Speaking at the launch, Minister of State Chambers said:
"I welcome the work that is being done to develop an Irish-speaking quarter and district in the Capital and the work that is underway with the City Council to develop a language plan for the city in the future.
"There is no doubt that there is a large community of Irish speakers and a wide range of Irish organisations based and active here in Dublin. The Irish language services that are already located in this city – such as Raidió Rí-Rá, Raidió na Life, Na Gaeil Óga GAA Club as well as the Irish language education services from pre-school to third level courses in the universities – are proof that there is a great demand for Irish language services here in the Capital.
"There are over 150,000 people who speak Irish in the Dublin city area and over 430,000 people who speak Irish in the County as a whole, and that means that Dublin is the third highest county in the country in terms of the percentage of daily Irish speakers. This project is therefore of particular importance to ensure the Irish language thrives in the city, that the language is promoted in the business sector and given economic recognition. I’m delighted that my department is able to give this support to the Irish language in our capital city."
BÁC le Gaeilge services will give the City's businesses the opportunity to use the language more in their own activities. Under the Business Support Scheme that has been announced, Dublin business people will be able to avail of support to increase the visibility of the language in their own businesses – on signage, websites, advertisements, menus and so forth.
Businesses and their staff members will be offered the opportunity to undertake an Irish language learning/improvement service under the auspices of BÁC le Gaeilge as they try to meet the needs of their customers in the national language.
And with the organisation’s new website – baclegaeilge.ie – businesses will be greatly facilitated in accessing information about the services available to them and about the network of businesses that are already benefiting from BÁC le Gaeilge services to promote the language in their companies.