Brian O'Shea
Question:157 Mr. O’Shea asked the Taoiseach the amount of money that has been spent in each of the past five years on the Irish language in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30944/04]
View answerDáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 November 2004
157 Mr. O’Shea asked the Taoiseach the amount of money that has been spent in each of the past five years on the Irish language in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30944/04]
View answer158 Mr. O’Shea asked the Taoiseach if provision has been made in the 2005 Estimates for his Department for the cost of implementing the provisions of the Official Languages Act 2003; the amount of such provision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30945/04]
View answer161 Mr. O’Shea asked the Taoiseach the amount which has been spent by his Department in 2004 in regard to implementing the provisions of the Official Languages Act 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31138/04]
View answer162 Mr. O’Shea asked the Taoiseach the amount which has been spent by public bodies or agencies funded by his Department in 2004; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31153/04]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 157, 158, 161 and 162 together.
My Department is committed to providing services through Irish. This is reflected in the Department's action plan 2001-04 which gives practical expression to the Government's commitment to deliver quality service to Irish speakers made in Delivering Better Government in 1996. Prior to enactment of the Official Languages Act 2003, my Department was proactive in implementing measures to promote the use of Irish. Those measures are set out generally in a reply which I gave to the Deputy last June in respect to similar questions.
My Department's strategy statement 2005-07 and the 2004 annual report will be published in 2005. Both documents will be available in Irish and English.
With regard to costs, it is not expected that implementation of the Official Languages Act 2003 will give rise to substantial costs additional to those which are being incurred prior to that enactment.
In so far as the day-to-day activities of the Department are concerned, it is generally not possible to distinguish separate costs for use of Irish, for example, in replying to correspondence or telephone calls. To the extent that separate costs for use of Irish can be identified, these are given below.
Year Translation Costs Incurred |
Title of Document |
Cost |
€ |
||
1999 |
Advertisement in Iris Oifigiúil SI of 1999 British Irish Agreement Act, 1999 (Commencement) Order, 1999 |
17.14 |
1999 |
The Report of the Interdepartmental Group (eWeb Publication) |
1,401.00 |
2001 |
2000 Annual Report |
2,151.37 |
2001 |
The Customer Action Plan 2001-4 |
2,967.00 |
2001 |
Bilingual reprint of the National Flag booklet |
2,755.00 (approx). |
2001 |
Cabinet Handbook |
16,000.00 (figure updated from that given in PQ no.15243/04) |
2002 |
Ireland and the European Union: Identifying Priorities and Pursuing Goals |
2,240.00 |
2002 |
Advertisement in Iris Oifigiuil in Irish (British-Irish Agreement (Amendment) Act 2002 (Commencement) Order |
17.14 |
2002 |
Translation & Printing of SI 522 of 2002 (British-Irish Agreement (Amendment) Act 2002 (Commencement) Order |
155.16 |
2002 |
Strategy Statement to 31 December 2003 |
1,205.23 |
2002 |
Telecommunications Working Group Report |
1,870.51 |
2002 |
Grangegorman Working Group Report |
482.70 |
2002 |
The Green Paper on Basic Income |
2,244.00 |
2003 |
DEC Telecommunications Working Group Report |
1,870.51 |
2003 |
Ireland and the European Union: Identifying Priorities and Pursuing Goals (2nd edition) |
3,313.00 |
2003 |
2001 Annual Report |
2,783.00 |
2002 Annual Report |
5,396.80 |
|
Strategy Statement 2003-2005* |
1,885.60 |
|
2003 |
Code of Conduct for Office Holders |
483.64. |
2004 |
Statutory Instrument 664 of 2004 Statistics(Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order |
44.77 |
2004 |
2003 Annual Report ** |
4,648.65 |
Human Resource Strategy 2003-2005 |
3,386.97 |
|
2004 |
Department Customer Charter — |
408.18 |
Charter and Customer Comment/Complaints Procedure |
6,912.75. |
|
The Charter was published bilingually |
||
2004 |
Invitation-IFSC Lunch hosted by the Taoiseach |
48.40 |
2004 |
Invitation re European Year of People with Disabilities |
48.40 |
2004 |
Menu-IFSC Lunch hosted by the Taoiseach |
48.40 |
2004 |
Invitation — Special Olympics Supporter Breakfast |
48.40 |
2004 |
Booklet — National Day of Commemoration |
60.50 |
2004 |
Departmental Legislation Website |
484.48 |
2004 |
Mid-Term Review of Part Two of Sustaining Progress — Pay and the Workplace |
817.17 |
2004 |
Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution’s notice inviting submissions on Family Rights |
50.00 |
2004 |
Quality Customer Services — LINK Newsletter |
2,850.00 |
2004 |
HRM/Co-ordination — LINK Newsletter |
874.67 |
2004 |
Better Regulation — Summary of White Paper “Regulating Better” |
713.89 |
* There are printing costs associated with printing the strategy statement in both Irish and English but as this was a combined Irish-English document it is not possible to extract the printing cost for the Irish version only.
** There are printing costs associated with printing the annual report in both Irish and English but as this was a combined Irish-English document it is not possible to extract the printing cost for the Irish version only.
The Government secretariat also arranges for Government notifications to be placed through Irish in Iris Oifigiúil. Expenditure incurred in placing such notifications for the years 1999 to 2004, January-October, is set down underneath.
Year |
Cost |
€ |
|
1999 |
1,719 |
2000 |
3,909 |
2001 |
2,495 |
2002 |
4,958 |
2003 |
2,179 |
2004 (Jan-Oct) |
1,806 |
As the Deputy is aware, section 11 of the Act provides for preparation by my Department, and individually by each of the bodies under its aegis, of a scheme in relation to the delivery of our services to the general public in the Irish language. In light of this, we propose to draft a scheme to ensure a higher standard and a better availability of our services through Irish. My Department is among the first of the public bodies to begin this process which will involve consultation with those who use my Department's services and who will be invited to make submissions to the preparation of the scheme. When completed, the draft scheme will be presented to the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs on the 28 March, 2005. I do not expect this scheme will give rise to significant additional costs and, consequently, it has not been necessary to make explicit separate or additional provision for this in the 2005 Estimates for my Department.