Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 June 2006
183 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 346 of 20 June 2006, the 27 public bodies with which he has agreed a language scheme and the 70 bodies which he has asked to prepare a scheme; if he is satisfied that it will be feasible for these bodies to implement the Act as outlined at section 9(3) of the Official Languages Act 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25219/06]
View answerA full list of the 27 public bodies with whom I have agreed language schemes to date, as well as a list of the 70 public bodies whom I have requested to prepare draft schemes, is available on the website of An Coimisinéir Teanga, www.coimisineir.ie.
Section 9(3) of the Official Languages Act 2003 is one of the directly applicable provision of the Act which apply to all public bodies covered by the Act. As I have outlined on a number of occasions in this House, I am satisfied that public bodies will be able to fulfil their obligations under Act, including those set out in section 9(3), and I am confident that they will accept this challenge with a positive attitude and in the proper spirit. As I have stated from the beginning, while it will not be possible to achieve everything overnight, my objective is that improvements in the range and quality of services available through Irish will be achieved over time, subject to demand.
