A disaster, a talking shop. Or one among a plethora of regional development bodies without the authority to do very much? Just a smattering of recent references to Udaras na Gaeltachta, which is due for re-election this day next week.

Not that you might know it. Apart from this newspaper and the Irish-language radio and television stations, there has been little media coverage of the election campaign. Even the fact that this is the first poll to be held on a Saturday hasn't attracted much attention from political commentators, with only seven days to go.

Some 41 candidates seeking 17 places include five women and the outspoken priest, Father Padraig Standun, who is in Tourmakeady, Co Mayo.

The failure of both RTE and TG4 to pick up on eight days of Oireachtas debates on the future of the body has been condemned by Eamon O Cuiv, Minister for the Gaeltacht Eamon O Cuiv.

"I could announce that I was launching an atomic bomb, but if I did so through Irish then the Dublin media would not report it," he said earlier this month at a seminar organised by Plearaca Conamara.

If it hadn't been for Plearaca, a community organisation in the Connemara Gaeltacht, the debate on the amended legislation might not have got going at all. The revisions include an increase in membership and new regional structures, but the Government fudged on redrawing boundaries even though the distribution of Irish-speakers has changed radically, and a large part of the mainly English-speaking Galway suburb of Knocknacarra is still included as a result.

"Once, the debate might have been focused exclusively on jobs and industrial development, but there are far wider issues at stake," Mr Donnacha O hEallaithe, chairman of Plearaca, told The Irish Times. Housing is one such issue; many Irish-speaking young people cannot afford to buy or build their first home in their native heath any more, with Cois Fharraige, west of Galway, being a prime example. There are still pockets of high unemployment, but the main focus is on social issues and the quality of Gaeltacht life.

At the same time, its employment record is the preferred target for critics. Enda Kenny, a Fine Gael TD for Mayo, accused the authority of neglecting the Mayo Gaeltacht, particularly areas such as Tourmakeady, Achill and Erris. Speaking during the Dail debate on the amended legislation, Kenny noted that while the economic state of the Gaeltacht had strengthened somewhat overall, the support for the language and culture of these areas had declined.

His party colleague, Michael Ring, was more forthright last month. He described the authority as a "talking shop" and a "disaster", and noted that 117 jobs were lost, and 114 created, in Mayo last year.

Certainly, Mayo has witnessed some of the failures, including the Erris peat briquette factory latterly owned by Norsk Hydro, which has had four different owners, and almost £30 million in assets including considerable State grant-aid, without ever trading on the market. However, the Udaras got most of its £2 million grant-aid back, it says.

ESTABLISHED in 1980 and assuming the functions of Gaeltarra Eireann, Udaras na Gaeltachta is charged with encouraging the "preservation and extension" of Irish as the everyday language of the Gaeltacht communities and establishing and developing job-creating industries and services. Full-time employment rose from 6,296 in these regions in 1994 to 8,174 in 1998, an increase of 30 per cent, according to the board's most recent results.

The board says a total of 5,977 jobs were created over the five-year period since the last elections, with 3,614 of these in established industries and 2,363 in new industries. This was double its target of 3,000. Part-time and seasonal employment increased from 3,298 in 1994 to 3,485 in 1998.

Full-time employment in the authority, with headquarters in Furbo, Co Galway, is almost unchanged, at 111 staff in 1994 and 116 at the end of 1998.

In the five-year period before 1994, many of the new part-time opportunities were in aquaculture, and these occupations have doubled in a decade. The authority cites expansion of the audio-visual sector and new technology initiatives among its "significant developments".

It also emphasises that competitiveness has been improved by raising standards and upgrading skills; some 30 Gaeltacht companies have achieved ISO 9000 recognition, and almost half of the new jobs in 1998 were in the engineering, electronics and modern services sector. It says the cost per job over the period fell from £9,500 in 1994 to £6,900 in 1998, while the level of grant-aid has been steadily declining.

The success of the audio-visual sector, underpinned by TG4 which he established, is one measure of the success of the authority, according to the former arts and gaeltacht minister and Galway West TD, Michael D. Higgins. He also points out that the appointment of a non-political chairman is one of its greatest strengths.

In a thought-provoking address to another recent pre-election seminar, hosted by Comhdhail Naisiunta na Gaeilge, and the Gaeltacht community development group, Meitheal Forbartha Gaeltachta, the outgoing chairman, Prof Gearoid O Tuathaigh of NUI Galway, said the biggest challenge facing the new board of Udaras na Gaeltachta would be the indifference and hostility of State bodies and institutions.

"Unfortunately, it is our own State institutions which fail us the greatest and the most often," he said. Some of them were "blind, negative and unwelcoming" when Gaeltacht issues were brought to their attention.

Higgins believes the authority must be allowed to become a regional body if it is to have an impact. Redrawing the boundaries would be a prerequisite, he says. "It is nonsense to say that the suburbs of Tirellan and Knocknacarra in the Galway `Gaeltacht' are similar to Rosmuc and Carraroe."

He also appeals for some "misneach" or political courage to allow it to serve as a local government structure, with relevant powers and responsibilities ceded by appropriate county councils, health boards and central government departments. "This may require amending local authority powers; pending this, the Minister should take some interim measures to move in this direction."

Higgins says the cultural aspect has tended to be treated as "residual"; links must be forged between the audio-visual industry and oral heritage, such as story-telling, he suggests. He also believes public evaluation of projects is essential if there is single-party domination on sub-committees, and fears a repeat of old models of party favouritism in the changes in the legislation.

The need for transparency is emphasised by Diarmuid Johnson, editor of Cuisle, the Irish-language monthly. He believes the restructuring will make it much more democratic, and the increase in board membership - and in candidates in the election - will give it a higher profile. He thinks its industrial development role is exaggerated.

"It is high time some of its energy was channelled into human resources and services. Citing figures for jobs as a mark of success or otherwise is an easy option, but there are too many jobs in too few sectors, and people are seeking better prospects."

A survey of Donegal Leaving Certificate students which Cuisle is publishing in its next issue confirms that most want higher education, and corresponding career opportunities. He credits the chairman, Prof O Tuathaigh, with much honesty. "His speech at the recent forum would have been pioneering 10 years ago."

As for the timing of elections - originally due to be held on the same day as the European and local vote in June - Nollaig O Gadhra, journalist and lecturer in the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, is critical.

"If it is to be of relevance in terms of regional development, it should be held before the European vote," O Gadhra maintains. He believes the Udaras has a future, but only if it is allowed to become a viable local administrative structure for Irish-speaking communities. "At the moment, it doesn't even have the authority of an urban district council," he said.