Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 June 2013
375. Deputy John Lyons asked the Minister for Social Protection the cases in which her Department covers the cost of the translation of documents from other languages; the amount the practice will cost her Department in 2013 and has cost her Department in the past five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30612/13]
View answerIn order to help customers in their dealings with the Department, translation services are provided to and from all languages, on request. This includes the provision of translation services to and from Irish in line with the requirements of the Official Languages Act, 2003.
Overall, translations from more than 50 languages were provided by the Department last year.
The majority of translations funded by the Department, relates to supporting documentation required for processing customer claims such as birth, marriage or death certificates, medical reports and statements relating to customers' circumstances.
To mid June 2013, some €190,000 has been expended on translation services. Expenditure over the previous five years is outlined in the table below.
|
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
|
€0.329m |
€0.287 |
€0.350m |
€0.384m |
€0.336m |
