Vol. 553 No. 6
257 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the costings which have been done in regard to the full implementation of the Official Languages (Equality) Bill, 2002; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14881/02]
While no formal costings have been done in regard to the full implementation of the Official Languages (Equality) Bill, 2002, clearly, there will be cost issues involved, particularly at start-up.
Circumstances will vary greatly from Department to Department in regard to demand for delivery of services through Irish and indeed some Departments will be better placed than others in regard to having the resources to meet this demand; some Departments may already operate, to varying degrees, a policy of bilingualism. Broadly speaking, no significant additional costs are envisaged over and above those already arising from the obligations on Departments in relation to the adoption by the Government in July 2000 of official languages equality as one of the three new principles for quality customer services, to provide a quality service through Irish and/or bi-lingually and inform customers of their right to choose to be dealt with through one or other of the official languages.
However, additional costs will probably arise in connection with matters such as the establishment of the Office of the Official Languages Commissioner; training, bilingual and translation services. Costs for individual Departments or State bodies, or indeed on an overall basis, cannot be established until individual schemes have been agreed.
