Vol. 569 No. 4
227 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Health and Children the funding provided to organisations in regard to the development of the Irish language by same either directly or indirectly by his Department; the policy, in bilingual format, of the organisations for which the funding was provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18004/03]
Health boards are funded to provide information on health and personal social services in both Irish and English as part of the administration of the health services. Courses are provided to health board staff to improve their proficiency in Irish in order to improve the level of service available to the public. This is part of normal staff development and training and no specific breakdown of expenditure is available. General responsibility for the development of the Irish language rests with my colleague, the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Éamon Ó Cúiv.
