My Department has always been conscious of its remit to actively support the Irish language through the education system. We have a customer base that expects a service in Irish and the provision of Irish versions of application forms, information leaflets or books, annual reports and statistical data is almost automatically assumed. For this reason, it is not possible to easily separate out costings that are attributable to the Official Languages Act 2003.
In 2004, just under €30,000 has been spent so far on translation costs and Irish language training has to date cost €17,201.30. This expenditure would have occurred at any rate as part of providing services to our customers. These figures relate to administrative costs only and exclude expenditure on the education system.