asked the Minister for the Public Service the cost of staffing sanctioned by him for the operation of the instantaneous translation service from Irish into English in Dáil Éireann in the year 1974; and whether he was satisfied that the cost was justified on the basis of the amount of Irish used.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dáil Instantaneous Translation Service.
20.
The work involved in providing instantaneous translation from Irish into English in the Dáil is attended to by two senior translators and two junior translators from the Translation Section of the Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas. The Translation Staff was strengthened by the addition of two posts of junior translator to cope with extra work including that arising from the instantaneous translation service which was introduced in 1972. The cost of two senior and two junior translator posts in 1974 was £12,900. The officers engaged on this work are, of course, also available for the general range of translation duties in the Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
I am informed that the Dáil Debates for 1974 contain some 15,000 columns of which 242 columns were in respect of speeches delivered in the Irish language.
Si je voudrais chercher l'information en francais, c'est possible?
Ní thuigim cad tá á rá agat.
May I ask the proportion of the members of the Common Market who speak French and also Irish?
That is a separate question.
Is it a fact that the translators are engaged full time in the Translation Section in the House and that the work they are asked to do here is an extra?
They are part of the general translation office of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
Is this not extra work that has been placed on them in the last 12 months or so?
The additional work which commenced in 1972 has, of course, been assisted by the recruitment of additional translators.
Would the Minister not agree that if I were suddenly to break into the Irish language, which I am not capable of doing, an unfortunate little girl would have to be sent for from the translation service——
Tá sí ann faoi láthair.
She is sitting there waiting. I am not making a speech, but I recall a celebrated occasion when the late Deputy Michael Kitt reduced the whole House to consternation by bringing in additional supplementary questions in the Irish language. Can the Minister justify that if I suddenly started talking Irish the whole House would be——
We cannot resolve this matter at Question Time by argument.
The Deputy will appreciate that this is not a matter which calls for ministerial opinion. The service was provided at the request of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges and not by, or at the instigation of the Minister for Finance.
The phrase "imputed cost" is an "in" phrase at the moment. Could the Minister make a shot at what the imputed cost of this service is?
It is very difficult to define what proportion of the time of the translators is spent in the House and what proportion is spent on other duties. The cost of the salaries of the people in question per column of Irish spoken in 1974 would work out at £53.30 per column.