Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Táimid ag déanamh déileáil sa chuid seo den chlár le tuarascáil an Choimisinéara Teanga maidir le bronnadh marcanna breise - bonus points - as líofacht sa Ghaeilge i gcomórtais inmheánacha sa Roinn Coimirce Sóisialaí.

Before I commence I wish to advise that, by virtue of section 17(2)(l) of the Defamation Act 2009, those who will make presentations are protected by absolute privilege in respect of their evidence to the committee. If they are directed by the committee to cease giving evidence on a particular matter and continue to so do, they are entitled thereafter only to qualified privilege in respect of their evidence. They are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given and asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, they should not criticise or make charges against a person, persons or an entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable.

I will read a background to the subject of this discussion to give the context for it. An Coimisinéir Teanga undertook two investigations arising from complaints made to his office in regard to the procedures adopted by the Department of Social Protection to award bonus marks for proficiency in Irish and in English in internal promotions competitions. An coimisinéir made certain recommendations to the Department arising from these investigations. The Department subsequently confirmed to an coimisinéir that it did not intend to implement the recommendations made in either of the two investigations. An coimisinéir accordingly made a report of the matter to the Houses of the Oireachtas pursuant to section 26(5) of the Official Languages Act 2003.

The committee met An Coimisinéir Teanga on 2 May 2012 and considered the report further on 18 July 2012. Arising from that meeting, correspondence issued to the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. In its reply the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform suggested that the committee might also wish to consider inviting representatives of the Commission for Public Service Appointments, the body that regulates public service recruitment, and the Public Appointments Service, the main recruitment body for the Civil Service, on the basis that both bodies would be in a position to provide valuable input into the matters under consideration. Representatives of each of the four bodies are available to make a statement to the committee. The text of statements supplied by each body are included in this document and a paragraph number is provided for ease of reference.

In the report to the Houses of the Oireachtas, An Coimisinéir Teanga identified in the interpretation of the Department of Finance circulars, and especially at what point during a competition for promotion should credit be given for proficiency in Irish as a central issue. That is the report I mentioned earlier.

The findings of the An Coimisinéir Teanga were as follows: a statutory requirement for Government Departments, including the Department of Social Protection, to award bonus marks for language competency in internal competitions, as set out in circulars 43/75 and circular 30/90; it would be ultra vires for the Department of Social Projection to amend, on its own initiative, by means of an office notice the provision of circulars which secure rights for individuals when those circulars have been issued by a specific Minister by virtue of and pursuant to powers confirmed by section 17 of the Civil Service Regulation Act; the relevant circulars do not permit the restriction of bonus marks only to those who secure a place on the final panel; and that subsection 1(d) of circular 43/75 clearly directs that " A knowledge of Irish will, however, be one of the factors which will be assessed in selecting staff for promotion". Where bonus marks are not awarded to a suitably qualified person, that person's rights are contravened.

The recommendations of An Coimisinéir Teanga were that the Department revise the results of these two promotional competitions to ensure that bonus marks, proficiency in both Irish and English were properly awarded to the complainants and also that the complainants should receive any benefit which might arise from the revised marking. An coimisinéir also recommended that the Department ensure that the provisions of the relevant circulars were fully employed in future in all its promotion competitions and that the Department inform the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, the Public Appointment Service and the Public Service Appointments Commission of the findings and recommendations of the investigations.

I note I am being summoned as a vote has been called in the Dáil. There are a number of witnesses before us. I propose to suspend proceedings until after the vote. I apologise to the witnesses and ask for their indulgence. We will begin with the witnesses' statements when we reconvene.