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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 17 May 2001

Vol. 536 No. 4

Written Answers. - Irish Language Translations.

Michael Noonan

Ceist:

33 Mr. Noonan asked the Minister for Finance if the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government produces Irish language versions of all items of legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10779/01]

Phil Hogan

Ceist:

55 Mr. Hogan asked the Minister for Finance if he will ensure that Irish language translations of all legislative instruments are produced and made available to citizens; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10778/01]

Michael Noonan

Ceist:

67 Mr. Noonan asked the Minister for Finance the steps the Attorney General will take to address the recent Supreme Court ruling that legislative instruments must be produced in both official languages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10780/01]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 33, 55 and 67 together.

The recent Supreme Court judgments in the case of Ó Beoláin v. District Judge Mary Fahy, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Ireland and the Attorney General confirms the Constitutional obligation of the State to ensure that the official translation into Irish of the statutes are made available to the general public and obliges the State to provide an official translation of the Rules of the District Court. The practice in relation to translation is that the translation branch of the Houses of the Oireachtas is responsible for the translation of statutes while individual Departments are responsible for their respective statutory instruments.

In May 2000, my Department sanctioned the provision of additional staffing and financial resources to the Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas. Despite difficulties in identifying a sufficient number of suitably qualified staff, the Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas have, following a competition for the recruitment of the additional staff in the translation branch, recently made seven offers of appointment. The Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas remain confident that they will be able to identify sufficiently qualified staff to fill all of the ten additional posts sanctioned by my Department. Work on the clearance of the arrears of Statutes awaiting translation will commence as soon as the additional staff have been appointed.

As the Rules of the District Court are contained in a statutory instrument the issue of their translation is one for the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. I understand that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is currently considering a number of options with a view to giving expeditious effect to the Supreme Court ruling.

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