Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 November 2015
283. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the percentage of staff in her Department capable of dealing with the public in the Irish language; if there are training programmes in place for staff to improve their level of working Irish; the provision for other minority languages; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38618/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra11% of the staff in my Department are capable of dealing with the public through Irish. My Department supports staff in improving their Irish language skills at all levels of proficiency and for example actively promotes the Certificate in Professional Irish, which is a part-time programme delivered by Gaelchultúr to help public sector employees provide a higher level of customer service through Irish. My Department does not have any specific provision for dealing with the public in languages other than Irish or English.
