Minister Dara Calleary approves funding of over €3 million for Maynooth University for Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (TEG) and other key projects for the period 2025-28

• Over €2.3 million for Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (TEG) for the period 2025-26 to 2027-28.
• €823,979 in total also approved for Snas.ie, the Certificate in Teaching of Irish agus the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris.
• TEG has been awarded the ALTE Qmark twice, in 2015 and again in 2020
• TEG is the only independent certification system available for the Irish language.

Ireland - The Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary TD, today (Wednesday, 10th September) announced that he has approved total funding of €3.143 million for four strategic projects administered by Maynooth University for the period 2025-26 to 2027-28.

The Minister approved funding of €2,318,899 for Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (European

Irish Language Certificate) (TEG) to provide standardised examinations and TEG certification for learners and skilled users of Irish, who wish to obtain independent assurance of their language ability and achieve a qualification that is recognised nationally and internationally.

TEG will be in existence for 20 years in 2025-26 and they expect that 20,000 candidates will have taken the exams by the end of that academic year.

As well as the financial package for TEG, Minister Calleary also announced funding of €823,979 in total for three other key projects administered by Maynooth University:

• Snas.ie, the online educational resource hub (€331,079)
• Certificate in Teaching of Irish (online) (€293,224)
• Irish-language programmes and events in the Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris (€199,676)

Speaking at an event in Maynooth this evening to celebrate 20 years of TEG, Minister Calleary said:

‘‘I am delighted that my Department is able to extend our funding for the TEG initiative by three years – a language certification system that has established a high standard over the past 20 years. TEG is the only independent certification system available for the Irish language, and is transparently aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) – the most widely used international framework for measuring language proficiency. Accordingly, TEG is of particular importance in terms of confirming the capacity of the public and the state system in the language, and will play a central role in the State’s efforts to empower the public in the Irish language in the years ahead.”

The Director of Lárionad na Gaeilge at Maynooth University, Aoife Ní Ghloinn, warmly welcomed news of the funding:

“We are very proud of the pioneering work that TEG has done over the past 20 years to provide a high-quality testing service to the Irish-speaking community, and we are very grateful to the Department for its continued support for this work. This funding will support TEG in making further developments to the system over the next three years, particularly in terms of technology.”

Lárionad na Gaeilge in Maynooth University is the only Irish member of the Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE), an association whose members include major European language organisations (such as the Goethe Institut, Cambridge English and Instituto Cervantes).

ALTE monitors, statistically validates and regularly audits TEG examinations to ensure that they meet the highest standards and international best practice. TEG has been awarded the ALTE Qmark twice, in 2015 and again in 2020, as proof of the excellence of the system.

With financial support from the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Lárionad na Gaeilge in Maynooth University has provided over 17,000 TEG exams to candidates to date, including:

• Employees of the civil service who undertake preparatory courses at levels A1-C1 with Gaelchultúr in conjunction with the Institute of Public Administration (OneLearning).
• Staff in public organisations applying for jobs and promotions.
• Trainee translators who undertake the C1 examination as an exit requirement for all courses funded under the Department's Advanced Irish Language Skills Initiative.
• Applicants to university courses who wish to demonstrate their language ability to meet basic entry requirements.
• Irish teachers in primary and secondary schools or Irish tutors in Universities in Ireland who wish to demonstrate or improve their language skills.
• Transition year students in secondary schools (T1 and T2) across the country who follow TEG syllabuses, to enhance their communication skills and achieve a recognised qualification at level A2-B2.
• Adults who want to return to learning Irish (for work purposes or to be able to use it with their children at home) and who need specific goals as motivation.
• Adult learners of Irish all over the world, in places like Paris, Sydney, the United States of America, Canada, etc.

A particular advantage of this system is that it provides employers with independent proof of language ability when selecting candidates for jobs or promotions. This is of particular importance in achieving the goals of the Official Languages Acts, 2003 to 2021.