Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 October 2012
120. Deputy James Bannon asked the Taoiseach the cost in 2011 to his Department and to each body under the aegis of his Department of implementing the Official Languages Act 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44473/12]
View answerThe primary objective of the Official Languages Act, 2003 was to ensure better availability and a higher standard of service to the public in Irish. This was already a key feature of my Department's Customer Charter, which undertakes that customers who wish to conduct their business through Irish can do so. However, because the primary focus of my Department's work is on dealings with Government and other Departments and Agencies, we do not experience a significant level of demand from the public for service in Irish. Nevertheless, in keeping with the spirit of the Act, we are fully committed to improving the service we provide in Irish and to developing, on an ongoing basis, a positive culture that encourages the use of Irish both within the Department and with our customers.
As required by the Act, we have set out our commitments in this regard in our current Official Languages Scheme. As my Department was already providing a bilingual service as part of our customer service commitments prior to the Official Languages Act 2003, it is difficult to quantify exactly how much is directly attributable to the implementation of the Act.
In 2011, a total of €19,735.69 was incurred in relation to the Irish language: Translation - €12,506.55; Advertising - €7,069.14; Language courses - €160. As one would expect, most of the translation costs were in respect of translation from English to Irish, in order to provide a better service to those who wish to receive material in or conduct their business through Irish; to reflect the national nature of my Department’s work; and to fulfil our obligations under the Official Languages Act. Most of the expenditure on advertising related to public notices for the National Day of Commemoration, and to the Department’s entry in the State Directory pages of the phone books. This figure does not include the long-standing practice of advertising in Irish in the Iris Oifigiúil, which predates the introduction of the Official Languages Act.
With regard to bodies under the aegis of this Department, the cost to the National Economic and Social Development Office (NESDO) of implementing the Official Languages Act 2003 in 2011 was €992.36. This related entirely to translation costs of the annual report of the office for the year ended 31 December 2010.
