I propose to take Questions Nos. 172 and 177 to 179, inclusive, together.
Firstly, I wish to refer the Deputy to my reply to Question No. 98 of 6 Bealtaine 2010, in which I indicated that the recognition of Irish as an official working language of the European Union with effect from 1 January 2007 presented the EU Institutions with a significant recruitment challenge. The Government took a number of steps to assist the EU Institutions in meeting this challenge and to ensure the availability of sufficient numbers of qualified personnel to support the new status of Irish at the EU. These steps included the establishment in 2006 of a dedicated fund — the Advanced Irish Languages Skills Initiative — to provide funding for specialised Irish language third-level courses and support for translation of EU terminology into Irish.
The Advanced Skills Initiative was put in place in order to increase the number of professionals with the necessary skills in the context of the requirements arising from the new status of Irish at the EU and also from the ongoing implementation at home of the Official Languages Act 2003. The fund is administered by my Department in conjunction with the Higher Education Authority. By the end of 2009, a total of eight full-time courses and two intensive short-term courses provided by various institutions were in operation.
The table below sets out the level of funding provided by my Department for each year since 2006 on these educational initiatives and in support of translation of EU terminology into Irish.
Year
|
Advanced Irish Languages Skills Initiative
|
Translation of EU terminology into Irish
|
|
€m
|
€
|
2006
|
0.034
|
—
|
2007
|
0.461
|
71,789
|
2008
|
1.373
|
387,046
|
2009
|
2.234
|
368,001
|
2010 (est.)
|
1.283
|
364,807
|
In relation to the stipends and accommodation expenses paid to students who participated in the 16 week intensive course for qualified lawyers referred to by the Deputy, no means test applied, but applications were assessed by the institutions concerned. As the Deputy will be aware, there was an urgent need to ensure that lawyer-linguists proficient in Irish became available as speedily as possible. It was in this context that it was agreed that each participant on the course would be paid a stipend, as well as accommodation expenses in the case of participants based outside Dublin. The payment of a stipend was intended to help compensate participants who would be unable to work while attending this full-time course. I wish also to again reiterate that the relevant institution provided my Department with detailed information in relation to the participants who qualified for accommodation costs, prior to funding being made available in this regard.
Finally, I am advised that the number of persons recruited by the EU institutions to meet requirements arising in relation to Irish being an official and working language of the EU is 43. In addition, there are 25 accredited freelance interpreters. A breakdown of these figures between the various EU Institutions is set out below:
European Parliament Total: 4 full-time posts; 12 accredited freelance interpreters — English and Irish Translation Unit: 3 officials — English and Irish Interpretation Unit: 1 official; 12 accredited freelance interpreters
European Commission Total: 13 full-time posts; 13 accredited freelance interpreters — Irish Interpretation: 2 officials (plus 13 accredited freelance interpreters who also supply interpretation to Council meetings) — Irish Language Translation: 6 officials; 2 seconded national experts; 1 assistant — Legal Service (Lawyer-Linguists): 2 officials
General Secretariat of the Council of the EU Total: 26 full-time posts — Irish Translation: 22 translators, 7 assistants — Legal Service (Lawyer-Linguists): 2 officials, 2 assistants