Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 October 2004
157 Mr. Costello asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs if he has given consideration to providing extra funding to local authorities and State agencies to meet the cost of translation of documents into Irish in accordance with the provisions of the Official Languages Act 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22766/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe question of provision of funding for specific administrative costs for individual public bodies — regardless of whether these relate to the Official Languages Act or any other service delivery or policy obligation arising — falls to be assessed against formal business cases or proposals submitted as part of the normal annual Estimate and budget cycle and not otherwise. Given its position as the first constitutional language, my object is to ensure that delivery of public services by public bodies, including provision of information about services and activities through the Irish language, is seen as normal and meets the required minimum standards of customer service and corporate governance, rather than an optional extra or add-on.
In regard to the Deputy's specific question, I make the point that the obligations that currently stand commenced under the Official Languages Act in relation to publication of documents in both official languages and are those under section 10 of the Act only. Section 10 provides for the simultaneous publication in both official languages of what is in fact a very limited number of key documents such as annual reports, annual financial statements/accounts and documents setting out public policy proposals — examples of this last category would include Green Papers and White Papers published by Departments.
These are all key documents by which public bodies account to the general public, to their specific customers and to us as Members of the Oireachtas in regard to how they have in the previous year or how they propose in future to discharge their public functions. There are two official languages spoken in this State and it seems to me — as it did to all parties in this House when we debated this Act as a Bill — right and proper that documents of this nature should be available to the citizen in both languages. I make the point that when we debated the Bill in the House I was requested, but declined, to accept amendments that would have widened quite considerably the range of documents subject to the automatic simultaneous publication obligation.
I also make the point that my Department currently ensures and for many years prior to this has ensured the publication in both languages of a much wider range of publications than those covered by section 10 and it does so from within the normal administrative budget voted to it by the Dáil from year to year.
