asked the Taoiseach if he will state the basis on which preferences or extra credits for knowledge of Irish are awarded in competitions for appointments to be made on the recommendations of the Local Appointments Commissioners to situations under local authorities.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Local Appointments.
The basis on which these preferences or extra credits are awarded is the following:—
There are certain posts—e.g., county librarian, chief executive officer of a vocational education committee, school attendance officer—for which a very good knowledge of Irish is regarded as an essential qualification. Persons selected for appointment to these posts must therefore be competent to discharge all their duties efficiently through the medium of Irish.
In competitions for all other posts a preference or extra credit is given to suitable qualified candidates who have a good knowledge of Irish, the extent of the preference varying according to the category of the post.
If, for example, the post is one the duties of which are to be performed in a Gaeltacht area, or one the holder of which may have to deal with persons from a Gaeltacht area, then the regulations governing the competition as an invariable practice are so worded as to ensure that a candidate who has not a good knowledge of Irish will not be selected for appointment unless it is found that no suitable qualified candidate with such a knowledge is available. If it is necessary to appoint a candidate who is not competent to discharge the duties of the post efficiently through the medium of Irish the person appointed is required to obtain the requisite knowledge of Irish within a specified period.
Similarly, if the post, though not in the Gaeltacht, is one (e.g., school medical officer) the duties of which are to be performed in relation to school children, the commissioners' regulations are so worded as to ensure that a candidate who is not competent to perform all these duties efficiently through the medium of Irish will not be selected for appointment unless it is found that no suitable qualified candidate who is so competent is available. The regulations provide further in such cases that substantial extra credit is given to any candidates whose knowledge of Irish is sufficiently good to enable them to reach a competent standard in a comparatively short time.
For the filling of other offices which do not affect the Gaeltacht, the regulations are so worded as to provide for the grant of extra credit, but not in the nature of an absolute preference, to candidates who possess a good knowledge of Irish.
It is important to note that before a candidate is granted any preference or special credit in respect of his knowledge of Irish, he must first satisfy the commissioners that he is fully qualified and suitable in all other respects for appointment to the post which he is seeking.
Arising out of the Taoiseach's reply, is not the plain fact this: that when a Fianna Fáil candidate for a public appointment has made an exhaustive study of the Irish language, then the advantage accruing from a knowledge of that language is substantial; but if a non-Fianna Fáil candidate has an adequate knowledge of Irish and a Fianna Fáil candidate has not, then the advantage is not so substantial?
I think the suggestions made by the Deputy are simply disgraceful.
But they are perfectly true.
They are not true. They are absolutely false, and the Deputy knows they are false.
I know nothing of the kind.
The Deputy knows they are false.
Everyone in the country knows it.
It is an absolute lie.
Is it not a fact that in the Irish-speaking districts there are a large number of people: nurses, doctors, rate collectors and others who were appointed to their positions subject to the understanding that they would get a competent knowledge of Irish; that they have been in their posts for eight, nine and ten years and are still not certified to have a competent knowledge of Irish, and that no steps appear to have been taken to see that these posts are filled by people who do know Irish?
That is a matter that has frequently engaged the attention of the Government. There are difficulties in connection with it, and, if the Deputy would like to have a full answer, I suggest that he should address a question to the Minister for Local Government and Public Health.
I did not quite catch the Taoiseach's reply to my question. Does the statement that he made apply to posts as county registrars as well as to other posts?
If the Deputy has in mind particular categories I would have to find out with regard to each, but, in this case, these are appointments that are made on the recommendation of the Local Appointments Commissioners.