To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what funding was provided for the promotion of the (a) Irish language and (b) Ulster-Scots language in each year since 1998. [126502]

The promotion of the Irish and the Ulster-Scots languages is the responsibility of the North/South Language Body and its two Agencies Foras na Gaeilge (the Irish Language Agency) and Tha Boord o Ulstèr-Scotch (the Ulster-Scots Agency).The North/South Language Body is jointly funded by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (DCRGA). The funding provided by the North/South Language Body for the promotion of the Irish and Ulster-Scots languages is shown as follows.

£
	Foras na Gaeilge— funding for Irish language promotion	Tha Boord o Ulstèr- Scotch—funding for Ulster-Scots language promotion
1998	Nil	Nil
1999	Nil	Nil
2000	1,837,000.00	4,000.00
2001	2,000,000.00	3,000.00
2002	2,640.000.00	14,000.00
2003 to date	1,405,000.00	24,000.00

Funding is available from departmental mainstream programmes for projects which may have an Irish or Ulster-Scots language dimension which cannot be separated from the primary funding objectives.