Elin Jones MS has welcomed the Welsh government's announcement of a £600,000 grant for the National Eisteddfod to support the use of the Welsh language.

The news comes at a time where there were growing concerns over rising costs due to inflation and the pandemic, with additional Covid 19 measures needed to ensure safety on the Maes.

"This is excellent news for the National Eisteddfod in Ceredigion 2022," said Ceredigion MS Jones

"As the Executive Chair for the event in Ceredigion, I am fully aware of the challenges the organisers will have to overcome this year, and this additional support is much appreciated.

"We all truly need an event such as the Eisteddfod to look forward to this year, and we can now ensure that the National Eisteddfod in Tregaron will be a fantastic celebration of our language and culture this August."

Earlier in the week Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles, announced over £1 million for projects to encourage more widespread use of Welsh.

He confirmed that as part of the funding, £600,000 will be provided to the National Eisteddfod towards hosting the 2022 event in Tregaron.

The funding will support the organisation’s preparations for this year’s event, due to take place between July 30 and August 6, and help achieve its aims of opening the Eisteddfod to a wider audience.

“Today’s announcement is about making our language and culture easier to access than ever," said Mr Miles.

"We’re investing in opportunities for more people to learn, use and teach Welsh, wherever they are in Wales and whatever their background.

“Welsh belongs to us all, whether we speak it or not.

"We’re delighted to work with our partners on such wide-ranging projects, which all support our aim of reaching a million Welsh speakers and doubling the daily use of our language by 2050.”

Funding will also be provided to the National Centre for Learning Welsh, for projects which include creating on-line taster courses for refugees and asylum seekers to learn Welsh, without needing to be fluent in English.

The Centre, in partnership with Say Something in Welsh, will also create courses provided in the most commonly-spoken languages among refugees and asylum seekers in Wales.

The funding will also be used to provide tutor support for a self-study entry-level course for teachers.

There have been 2,700 enrolments on the taster course for teachers since its launch in February 2020.

The new course, suitable for both primary and secondary teachers, aims to provide a pathway for teaching professionals into more advanced and intensive courses.

Funding will also be provided to Rhieni dros Addysg Gymraeg to develop information about Welsh-medium education in minority languages.

The aim is to support families whose children attend Welsh-medium education, but neither Welsh nor English are the main languages spoken at home, as well as promoting Welsh medium education among minority ethnic communities.