Official Languages Act 2003 Compliance

Tuesday, 1 October 2013

Questions (418)

Gerry Adams

Question:

418. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the arrangements put in place by his Department to ensure compliance with the Official Languages Act, specifically requirements for signage in departmental offices, schools, third level institutions; details of any assessments undertaken by departmental staff to assess requirements; the number of signs assessed; when any corrective actions were put in place; if any or all of the actions taken by his Department were within the designated timeframes set out in legislation, and, if not, the reasoning for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40540/13]

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Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

The Official Languages Act 2003 (Section 9) Regulations 2008 (S.I. No. 391 of 2008) were signed on 1 October 2008. These Regulations relate, inter alia, to the use of Irish and English by public bodies on signage. The Regulations have been coming into effect on a phased basis from 1 March 2009 onwards. Responsibility for monitoring compliance by public bodies with the provisions of the legislation rests with An Coimisinéir Teanga under section 21 of the Official Languages Act. As part of this monitoring process, I understand that An Coimisinéir Teanga is currently undertaking an audit of signage erected by public bodies, including signage in some of the buildings occupied by staff of my Department.

Since my Department is not the anchor tenant for some of these buildings, it should be noted that my Department is solely responsible for those offices which are used exclusively by it, as it has no control over signage in other parts of those buildings. Appropriate steps have been taken by my Department to ensure that it is compliant with the signage provisions of the Regulations and ongoing compliance checks on signage are conducted by staff of my Department.