Vol. 500 No. 2
120 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the amount of money his Department has directly or indirectly spent on the use and promotion of the Irish language in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3851/99]
The use of the Irish language in and by the Department was encouraged in a variety of ways in the period in question. Officials of the Department have been and continue to be available for those persons who wish to conduct their business through Irish. Bilingual versions of the various passport forms have been available for more than a decade. Irish language versions of the customer action plans leaflets and a summary of the White Paper on the Amsterdam Treaty were published in 1998. The Department also provided to the public an Irish language version of the Propositions on Heads of Agreement and the Joint Statement by the British and Irish Governments issued on 12 January 1998.
The Cultural Relations Committee of Ireland, an advisory body appointed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, funded in the period in question cultural projects – book donations and lecture tours – which promoted awareness of the Irish language abroad.
It is hoped to publish in the near future an Irish language version of a brochure on the work of the development co-operation division of the Department.
The following amounts were spent, directly and indirectly, by the Department on the use and promotion of the Irish language:
1994Ir£52,129.64
1995Ir£85,275.20
1996Ir£49,437.56
1997Ir£72,713.59
1998Ir£95,241.62.
