Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

First, there will be no interference or change in regard to the independence of the Coimisinéir Teanga, nor will there be any change in regard to his powers or responsibilities. He will continue to operate under the provisions of Acht na dTeangacha Oifigiúla 2003.

There are service level agreements between the Departments of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Public Expenditure and Reform. We have been given the responsibility of organising retraining in conjunction with an outside agency, namely Gaelchultúr, which is a private company based in Dublin that provides training. Approximately 300 civil servants have already received training there. It is not just a question of attending - one must also receive certification. We are familiar with what Gaeleagras did over the years when it was in operation. Civil servants used to spend two or three weeks in the Gaeltacht. I suggest that the course now being provided is more focused. As I have said, there will be examinations to be sat and standards to be attained on the completion of this programme.