Údarás plans jobs boost in Gaeltacht

ÚDARÁS Na Gaeltachta has revealed a radical five-year action plan to create 850 jobs a year in Irish-speaking areas.

Authority chief executive Pádraig Ó hAoláin said the scheme would focus on restoring the full-time employment level to 8,500 by 2010. And he said strong economic development and support for the language would be the key for Gaeltacht communities to achieve their full potential.

“All of the evidence shows that the size of the Irish language communities has been reducing and the language has less of a community and family foothold compared to a generation ago,” he said.