The Cathaoirleach is in luck as I have copies of the speech in both Irish and English. It would be fair, in the circumstances, to read my script in English. Is trua liom nach bhfuil córas aistriúcháin ann. Dá mbeimís in aon tír eile, ghlacfaí leis go mbeadh córas ann agus go bhféadfadh daoine labhairt ina rogha de theanga agus go mbeadh sé ar fáil do dhuine sa teanga ba rogha leis. Ní mar sin atá sé agus mar sin leanfaidh mé i mBéarla ach tá sé thar a bheith tábhachtach go mbeadh córas aistriúcháin ar fáil, ní amháin sa Dáil ach in achan seomra coiste.
It is a pity there is not a simultaneous translation system in place in a country with two official languages. The purpose of translation is not to serve those who can speak the Irish language but those who cannot, so that they can receive the statement in the language of their choice. I regret that I am effectively forced to speak in English only today, but that is the way it is.
I am pleased, notwithstanding this, to speak to the committee about the plans and targets we are setting for the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs over the next three years or so. I thank the Chairperson, in particular, for the invitation extended to myself and the Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern, to speak to the committee. The Minister of State and I propose to outline for the committee the overall strategic direction of the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs for the period 2003-05. Our outline will be based on the outcome of the process we are undertaking of drawing up a strategy statement for the new Department. I expect to be in a position to publish that statement shortly, following its approval by Government. I will forward copies of the document to this committee.
Members will appreciate, therefore, that it may not be possible today to be definitive about the detail of our proposed strategy statement, but we will make every effort to give as much information as we can. The Minister of State, Deputy Ahern, will concentrate on the areas of community development and tackling drug misuse, while I will outline the general background to the new Department and some of the issues we have addressed in drawing up our strategy statement. I will also focus briefly on other areas of our remit, including local development, rural, Gaeltacht and island development and the Irish language.
Members will be aware that when announcing the decision to establish the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, the Taoiseach gave it a clear mandate to produce a more co-ordinated engagement by the State with communities around the country as they pursue their own development. In listing the types of programmes for which the Department would be given responsibility, community and local development, including drugs and volunteering, and rural development, including the Leader, CLÁR and western development programmes, the Taoiseach made it clear that the Government was placing a focus on communities, particularly those that are vulnerable or under threat. Providing support to communities to enable them to identify and address problems in their own areas is seen as the best way forward, whether the communities are in rural or inner-city settings or grappling with difficulties caused by factors such as declining population, unemployment, language issues, social disadvantage or drug misuse.
In providing assistance to those communities, we must be ever mindful of the need to foster and maintain the community spirit that is evident throughout the country, whether in urban, rural, Gaeltacht or island contexts. The purpose must always be to provide support to communities in the most appropriate way as they work to share their own futures, address their common goals and achieve their full potential. The new Department has assumed responsibility for a range of matters previously under the remit of six other Departments - Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Environment and Local Government, Public Enterprise, Social, Community and Family Affairs and Tourism, Sport and Recreation.
While having a wide-ranging mandate, the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs is compact, with a staff of approximately 250. In addition, a number of State agencies and other bodies operate under the aegis of the Department and are charged with specific responsibilities in the community, voluntary, rural, Gaeltacht and islands sectors. These bodies, which include two cross-Border implementation bodies, are Area Development Management Limited; An Coimisiún Logainmneacha; An Foras Teanga, ar a bhfuil Foras na Gaeilge agus Gníomhaireacht na hUltaise; Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge; the Commissioners of Charitable Donations and Bequests; the Urban Accounts Fund Dispersement Board; the National Advisory Committee on Drugs; the National Drugs Strategy team; Údarás na Gaeltachta; Waterways Ireland; and the Western Development Commission.
The Department will act as a mechanism for delivering on and co-ordinating certain targets in An Agreed Programme for Government, including regenerating disadvantaged communities, continuing to tackle drug misuse, the protection and development of rural communities, supporting the Irish language and the development of the Gaeltacht and measures to further develop the islands. Principles to guide and shape the work of the Department are also set out in the programme and include the achievement of balanced regional development, the development of the social and physical infrastructure of rural Ireland and the achievement of real and sustained social progress. In light of the mandate that has been given to the Department, a mission statement that will include the following elements is envisaged: promoting and supporting the sustainable and inclusive development of communities; the term "communities" to encompass both urban and rural, and include Gaeltacht and island communities; helping to foster better regional balance and alleviate disadvantage; and advancing the use of the Irish language.
From an organisational point of view, the most pressing challenge facing the Department is undoubtedly the fact that it is a new entity bringing together, as I mentioned, elements of a number of different Departments under an overall "communities" umbrella. For the assistance of committee members, I have circulated with my speech two diagrams, one setting out the overall framework within which our services are delivered and the other setting out the range of programmes administered directly by the Department. The complexity evident in these diagrams represents a significant challenge for the Department in ensuring efficient and effective service to its customers and clients and in producing better value for money for taxpayers. At the same time, members will agree there can be little doubt that the establishment of the new Department offers tremendous opportunities to achieve greater integration and efficiency across the range of functions coming within its remit, thereby providing better delivery of services to its customers.
As members are aware, the Department is involved in a wide range of activities and service provision. For the purposes of our strategy statement, the Department's work can be grouped into four main areas, with goals identified in each area. These include, first, community and local development. The goal here is to encourage and facilitate communities, with a special focus on areas of disadvantage, to pursue social and economic progress in their areas. The second area is tackling drug misuse, the goal of which is to facilitate a more integrated and co-ordinated response by State agencies to tackle drug misuse with the aim of significantly reducing the harm caused to individuals and society. The third area is rural, Gaeltacht and islands development. The goal here is to promote and maintain living and working populations in rural and Gaeltacht areas and on the islands, by helping to foster sustainable and culturally vibrant communities in these areas. The fourth area is the maintenance and promotion of the Irish language. The goal is to increase the use of the Irish language countrywide and to support the maintenance of the language in Gaeltacht areas.
With regard to rural, Gaeltacht and islands development, our goal, as I mentioned, will be to promote and maintain living and working populations in rural and Gaeltacht areas and on the islands by helping to foster sustainable and culturally vibrant communities in these areas. Our key strategies will relate to implementing various measures designed to improve the economic, social and physical conditions in rural and Gaeltacht areas and on the islands, co-ordinating the implementation of actions for the development of rural communities and promoting traditional cultures, including the strengthening of the Irish language in the Gaeltacht.
Clearly, the decision by the Government to place the remit for rural development within a new Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs is a reflection of the need to continue to move forward with a plan for the sector that is focused on the communities that live in rural areas. While the 1999 White Paper on rural development sets out a vision and framework for the development of rural communities, a critical challenge is to ensure the White Paper commitments are addressed across a wide range of Government Departments and public bodies. Effective formalised co-ordination systems need to be maintained and strengthened with the appropriate Departments and agencies. Considerable success is already being achieved through, for example, the operation of the CLÁR programme, which is designed to address rural areas of special disadvantage. I was pleased to announce last month that these areas have been revised having regard to the preliminary results of the 2002 population census, as promised in An Agreed Programme for Government.
With regard to the Gaeltacht, it is clear that in order to attract modern service-based industries there and sustain Gaeltacht populations, critical structural deficiencies need to be addressed. The Department's ongoing work, particularly with regard to the development of strategic Gaeltacht infrastructure, will continue to be important, as will the vital role of Údarás na Gaeltachta in creating sustainable employment in the changing Gaeltacht environment, particularly in the context of the Irish language being a major resource for creating high quality employment.
Promoting the sustainable development of the populated offshore islands is also a key task of the Department. While much has been achieved in recent years, further improvements in access, services and infrastructural supports are necessary in order to maintain and enhance islanders' living standards.
With regard to the Irish language, our goal, as already outlined, will be to increase the use of the Irish language countrywide and to support the maintenance of the language in Gaeltacht areas. Our key strategies will relate to ensuring better provision of public services through Irish, strengthening Irish as the principal community language in the Gaeltacht, supporting Foras na Gaeilge in its task of increasing the use of the Irish language in everyday life throughout the island of Ireland and providing definitive Irish forms of the placenames of Ireland for official and public use.
A number of critical issues face the Department in the period 2003-05 in regard to the promotion of the Irish language, both within the Gaeltacht and outside it. As regards the provision of public services through Irish, the Official Languages (Equality) Bill 2002 has particular relevance. Its enactment, which I hope will be secured later this year, will require working with Government Departments and other public bodies to put in place agreed new schemes and structures regarding service provision through Irish and establishing an operating structure for the Official Languages Commissioner.
Other critical issues will include rolling out a series of practical costed measures - based on an examination by the coiste comhairleach of the recommendations of the report of the Commission on the Irish Language in the Gaeltacht - to strengthen Irish as the principal community language in the Gaeltacht, language planning, followed by the implementation of a focused action plan and the provision of Irish medium education at all levels.
Mar a dúirt mé ag an tús, tá i gceist ag an Aire Stáit labhairt libh maidir le cúraimí eile atá ar an Roinn. Mar is eol don choiste, sé atá i gceann de na príobhchuspóirí na Roinne ná go mbaintear amach gníomhach níos comhordaithe ag an Stát do phobal ar fud na tíre. De réir an chúspóra sin, féachfaidh mo Roinn chuige strucktúir, próiséis agus scéimeanna chun tacaíochta níos éifeachtúla a bhaint amach don phobal a chur in áit. Tá mé ag tiomáint leis an tionchar in oifigí phobail a dhaingniú i gcás go dtagann caiteachas ansin faoi chlár faoi chúram mo Roinne. Beidh sin ina phrionsabal threorach ar fud an phróiseis athbhreithnithe. Tá mé ag tabhairt caibidlí conclúide le roinnt Airí a bhfuil páirt acu i gcláracha comhchosúla . Tá súil agam go mbeidh mé in ann tús a chur le próiseas comhairleacháin go gairid le páirtithe leasmhara eile lena n-áirítear na comhpháirtithe soisialta agus sular riarfar clár dá léitheid.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an choiste as an deis seo a thabhairt dom labhairt inniu. Beidh mé sásta ceisteanna a fhreagairt ar ball.