James Lawless
Question:291. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Social Protection what provisions are made to accommodate clients who wish to conduct business through Irish in local social welfare offices. [49439/23]
View answerTuesday, 14 November 2023
Questions (291)
Written answers
My Department is committed to providing a high standard of service in either Irish or English to its customers.
Currently, the Department has almost 200 staff in our various Intreo and Departmental offices throughout the country that are available to provide services through Irish.
My Department is committed to the continued development and training of staff to facilitate the provision of services through Irish and encourages staff to avail of the range of training supports to enhance fluency in the Irish language. We have increased our refund-of-fees scheme from 80% to 100% to cover Irish language courses. We currently have 40 staff engaged in Irish language courses with Gaelchultúr.
In customer-facing areas – Local Offices (Intreo Centres and Branch Offices) - staff can provide telephone/ face-to-face services through Irish. In situations where staff who are able to conduct a service in Irish are unavailable, an interpreter service is offered. This service, which can be arranged at very short notice, can be provided either by 3-way phone call, or in-person, as required.