Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 January 2014
269. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Defence the estimated number and percentage of civil servants who are competent to carry out their duties through the medium of Irish and English in his Department; his views on whether this number is adequate; his plans to increase this number and percentage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2626/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Defence complies fully with the provisions of the Official Language Act, 2003. The Department has limited interaction with the general public and, consequently, has a low demand for services through the medium of the Irish language. As provided for in its current and previous Irish Language Schemes, the Department draws from a pool of personnel which has been established on a voluntary basis to assist the Branches of the Department in providing services through the medium of Irish and to address customer interaction if required.
There are currently nine (9) personnel in the pool who have volunteered to assist with the provision of services through Irish and this has proved adequate to meet the needs arising. The pool of volunteers is kept under ongoing review. This was reviewed most recently in the preparation of the Department’s draft third Irish Language Scheme which is currently being considered by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
