Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 April 2011
204 Deputy Olivia Mitchell asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost to her Department of sign replacement resulting from the requirement of the Department and all agencies and bodies under the Department’s remit to replace signs which were in place prior to March 2009 where the existing signs in Irish did not or would not meet the requirements in terms of Irish text required by 2012. [7202/11]
Amharc ar fhreagra205 Deputy Olivia Mitchell asked the Minister for Social Protection the anticipated cost to her Department of ensuring compliance by the Department and by all agencies and bodies under its remit with the requirements under the Official Languages Act 2003 to replace any sign currently in English only by March 2013. [7217/11]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 204 and 205 together.
The Department is currently reviewing the signage arrangements of all its offices in the context of ensuring full compliance with its obligations under the Official Languages Act 2003 (Section 9) Regulations 2008. The Department administers social welfare services from over 200 offices throughout the country. Almost all of these offices already comply with the requirement to have signage in both the Irish and English languages. It is not possible at this stage to give a precise estimate of the costs involved but the anticipated cost of replacing signage in English only will be negligible.
My Department is committed to providing a quality customer service in Irish to those customers who wish to conduct their business in Irish. This service has been provided prior and subsequent to the introduction of the Official Languages Act in 2003 and my Department will continue to fulfill its obligations as required under the Official Languages Act.
The three statutory bodies operating under the aegis of my Department are the Social Welfare Tribunal, the Citizens Information Board and the Pensions Board. In addition, the Pensions Ombudsman comes under the remit of the Department.
The Pension Board has confirmed that its external signage is compliant with the Official Languages Act. The cost of sign replacement was €800. The cost of amending the existing Irish text, in the signage of the Office of the Pensions Ombudsman is estimated at €800. The Citizens Information Board (CIB) has indicated that the total estimated cost of amending external signage to ensure compliance with requirements under the Official Languages Act in this regard will be in the order of €2,250. This estimated cost will be in respect of external signage at 14 locations and include the replacement and installation costs. As the Social Welfare Tribunal operates from one of the Department’s Headquarter offices, no costs will be incurred.
