Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 December 2004
53 Mr. O’Shea asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the number of jobs that have been created for the Irish language community as a direct result of the enactment of the Official Languages Act 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33239/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraI have already addressed the issue raised in this question in my reply to Question No. 39 of today. The purpose of enacting the Official Languages Act 2003 was to provide a statutory framework for the delivery of public services through the Irish language and its primary objective is to ensure better availability and a higher standard of such services.
As I outlined in my reply to Questions Nos. 188 and 189 on 25 November 2004, full implementation of the Act will require us to draw on the language competencies of significant numbers of people across both the public and private sectors. A small number of people, fewer than ten in total — the majority of whom were existing public servants — have been employed in the office of An Coimisinéir Teanga or have been assigned in my own Department to the implementation of the Act. These posts were filled from within the overall staff numbers ceiling in my Department. Moreover, I do not anticipate the creation of any significant additional employment in the wider public sector as a consequence of the legislation. As I indicated previously, it is to be anticipated that further employment may be created in training, translating etc. outside the public service.
