asked the Minister for Local Government and Public Health whether there is any regulation providing for a dispensary doctor, who was originally appointed prior to the Act prescribing a knowledge of Irish for Local Government employees, to sit for and pass any qualifying examination in Irish in the event of (a) his being transferred from a dispensary district in the Gaeltacht to a dispensary district under the same local authority in a non-Gaeltacht area; (b) in the event of his being transferred from one dispensary district to another under the same local authority, both districts being in the Gaeltacht, and (c) if his transfer in either of above circumstances is also from one local authority to another.
Written Answers. - Dispensary Doctors and Irish Language Test.
Article 3 of the Local Offices and Employments (Gaeltacht) Order, 1928, dated the 6th June, 1928, provides that any person appointed after the date of the Order to any of the scheduled positions and who was not immediately before such appointment in the service of the local authority shall not, if the duties of the position to which he is appointed are to be performed in or in relation to the Gaeltacht or any part thereof, continue in such position after the expiration of three years from the date of such appointment, unless before such expiration the Minister shall be satisfied that he possesses a knowledge of Irish sufficient to enable him adequately to perform the duties of such position through the medium of the said language.
Article 4 of the Local Offices and Employments (Gaeltacht) Order, 1931, provides that where a person whose continuance in a position under a local authority is regulated by Article 3 of the Order of 1928, is, during such continuance appointed by the local authority to another scheduled position the provisions of Article 3 of the latter Order shall apply to his continuance in the last mentioned position as if he were not, immediately before such appointment in the service of the local authority.
There are no similar general regulations applicable to positions under local authorities in non-Gaeltacht areas.
In view of the terms of the Orders referred to, the position in regard to the specific queries, raised is as follows:—
(a) As the duties of the transferred officer are not to be performed in or in relation to the Gaeltacht, the requirements of the Orders do not apply.
(b) The requirements of the Orders apply unless the officer concerned was in the permanent service of the local authority prior to the 6th June, 1928, and
(c) The requirements of the Order apply only if the duties of the new position are to be performed in or in relation to the Gaeltacht.