Direct rule Finance Minister Ian Pearson has lifted a six-month funding freeze on the daily Irish language newspaper Lá.
Grant-aid under a European programme for the paper's Donegal Gaeltacht office – which has been operating since June of last year – is now being released to Lá which is the only daily newspaper in a Celtic language.
The funds freeze came in August last year after UUP MP Lady Hermon had raised questions in the British Parliament about funding for the Andersonstown News Group. Lá is a sister paper of the Andersonstown News.
Euro funds battle won by Irish language newspaper
A six-month freeze on Euro funding for the Irish language daily newspaper Lá has been lifted by Finance Minister Ian Pearson.
The decision secures five jobs at the newspaper's new Donegal Gaeltacht office and enables the resumption of five-days-a-week publication.
The funding delay started in August 2004 after objections in July 2004 by North Down Unionist MP Syliva Hermon who demanded a halt to grant-aid for the Andersonstown News Group newspapers. At the time, she said: "It is absolutely outrageous that public money has been used to fund an avowedly republican newspaper group. This is totally unacceptable. For a start I am sure it is incompatible with European law which outlaws the state funding of newspapers."
However, following a second appraisal of the Lá application to the European programme INTERREG, Minister Pearson gave the project the thumbs-up. Six months of back payments are now being released to Lá.
As a result of the funding squeeze, jobs had been lost at Lá and the paper had scaled back production to four days a week.
Lá is sister paper of the Andersonstown News. Lá's shares are split evenly between the Andersonstown News Group and 100 of the country's top Irish language activists and organisations. Lá is run on a not-for-profit basis.
"This is a crucial victory for Lá and for Irish speakers across the world who had campaigned to have this funding released," explained Lá Managing Director Máirtín Ó Muilleoir. "It's a shot-in-the-arm for the entire Irish language movement."
The plan to open a sub-office in the heart of the Donegal Gaeltacht was approved by INTERREG in the spring of last year and the office opened in June. However, following parliamentary questions by Lady Hermon and Lord Laird, the Department of Finance in the North intervened to delay the payment of grant-aid – despite the fact that a signed letter of offer had been provided to Lá and five employees appointed.
"At the request of that Department, a second appraisal of the project was carried out – the first time in the history of INTERREG that such an action had been taken," added Máirtín Ó Muilleoir. "As we had predicted, the project passed the second appraisal with flying colours because this is a first-class cross-border initiative uniting two hard-pressed communities in Gaoth Dobhair and Belfast. Ultimately, it was the Minister's decision and to greenlight our funding."
Mr Ó Muilleoir said special praise goes to the thousands of people who expressed support for Lá. "Irish speakers and learners from as far away as Finland and Australia expressed their support through a special website while politicians from many different parties, including the Alliance Party and the Green Party, opposed the funding block. We were particularly grateful to Donegal Fianna Fáil councillor Brian Ó Domhnaill and to Sinn FÉin MEP Bairbre de Brún for their active support."
The Lá MD described the effort to derail Lá as the "most concerted attack" on the newspaper in its 20-year history. "It's not the first attack we"ve seen off and it"ll hardly be the last but this victory means we can now concentrate on what we want to do: produce a quality Irish language daily newspaper."
Last night (Sunday), MEP Bairbre de Brún welcomed the funds breakthrough but said funding for the paper should never have been held up. "This will allow Lá to grow and develop over coming months," she said.
Cllr Brian Ó Domhnaill, who is also a member of the Gaeltacht Authority údarás na Gaeltachta, says the news will be welcomed in the Donegal Gaeltacht. "I"m delighted at this news," he said. "This is the strongest Irish speaking area in the country and the decision of Lá to locate an office here was a vote of confidence in our regeneration efforts."
