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(This article is produced by our Gaeltacht team. You can read an English version of this piece here)
TODAY WAS A good news day in Conamara as the Gaeltacht Minister, Dara Calleary, was in the region to announce that a project to build a €10m education and youth centre would proceed to tender stage.
Added to that, the Conamara headquartered Gaeltacht economic development agency Údarás na Gaeltachta had a positive end-of-year report to unveil.
The value of goods and services sold by companies supported by Údarás na Gaeltachta has exceeded €1bn for the second year in a row, it was disclosed in the agency’s end-of-year report for 2025.
In 2025, 681 new jobs were created, bringing the total number of jobs to 9,716 across seven counties and there were 214 vacancies at the end of the year at companies supported by Údarás. At the end of 2025, 9,716 people were employed in these companies.
Gaeltacht companies had total sales of €1.3bn, exports from the companies were worth €697m and sales in Ireland were worth €570m.
Minister Calleary said that it was “a significant achievement to have almost 10,000 people employed in the organisation’s client companies and to achieve sales of €1bn for the second year in a row”.
“This would not have happened without the strategic work that the organisation has done over a long period of time.”
When the Minister was questioned about housing matters at the launch event, he admitted that he himself was impatient for results on housing. He said work was being done on the matter and said that he was keeping up the pressure on the Housing Minister, James Browne, to publish a national Gaeltacht planning statement this year.
He said, however, that the issue of housing in the Gaeltacht would take time to resolve. “Houses cannot be built overnight,” he said.
There are Gaeltacht areas in seven counties – Galway, Mayo, Donegal, Meath, Waterford, Cork and Kerry – and not only does the Údaras encourage and support enterprise and employment in these areas, but the agency also supports community organisations and arts policies. The Authority’s main mission is to maintain the Irish language as a community language in these areas and to preserve it for future generations.
The Údarás has a responsibility to support and coordinate language planning in the Gaeltacht areas and the agency supports lead organisations, co-operatives and other community organisations to implement language plans in 26 Language Planning Areas and two Gaeltacht Service Towns. They received €3.9m in funding and had 33 Language Planning Officers working with them.
Údarás chairperson Siobhán Ní Ghadhra said there had been significant growth during 2025.
“The main objective of the Údarás is to foster communities where Irish is spoken every day,” she said. “Behind every number in this report are people who love the Gaeltacht and are committed to its future.”
The ‘Gteic’ network – centres providing high-speed broadband and desks and offices for rent for small businesses and remote workers – is now at 29 hubs, supporting 436 people in work and providing 867 workspaces. Two more hubs will open in 2026.
The Údarás is also working on possibilities for developing artificial intelligence (AI) in the Gaeltacht.
The agency is working with researchers at Trinity College, University College Cork, Galway University and Mozilla Common Voice and Data Collective and is piloting a speech technology project to develop AI-powered public services in Irish.
Údarás chief executive Tomás Ó Síocháin said he was pleased to “see employment growth alongside significant developments in areas such as AI technology for Irish and community development”.
“It is vital that we continue to foster opportunities in Gaeltacht communities that contribute to a sustainable future for the language and culture,” he said.
The Údarás also invests in tourism and other cultural policies.
As the end-of-year report was launched at Coláiste Lurgan in Indreabhán, the Minister for the Gaeltacht announced that plans to build an education and youth centre that would be the hub of the successful Summer College and a year-round facility for the area’s young people were proceeding to the tender stage.
“This is a major step forward that will greatly benefit the area and the surrounding community,” he said.
“It will provide much-needed space for a range of community groups and activities in this Gaeltacht area, and will further strengthen the language planning process by providing spaces where events and activities are promoted for young people in the Gaeltacht and for Irish language learners from all over the country.”
The project involves the construction of a modern, high-quality centre comprising a multi-purpose hall that can be used for both sporting and recreational events, classrooms, a kitchen, offices and parking on the Údarás na Gaeltachta site where Coláiste Lurgan is currently located.
The project, whose final cost is estimated to be in the region of €10m, is expected to be completed in 2029.
The Journal’s Gaeltacht initiative is supported by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
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