Mr. Daithí Ó Caigne:

I am here today, as requested by the committee, to speak about the Department's response to a questionnaire that was submitted by this committee. I will address the progress the Department is making with the objectives and actions that have been set out in respect of Irish language and bilingual services throughout the Civil Service. I am grateful to the Chair for her understanding of the fact that my level of Irish is not sufficiently developed to speak in Irish this afternoon. I will speak in English for that reason.

Irish language use is a core Government policy objective. The availability of staff with Irish language proficiency in the Civil Service continues to be an important component of that policy. The questionnaire sent to all Departments by this committee last December was returned by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in January of this year. I can confirm that the Department reviews the level of demand for the provision of its services through the Irish language by monitoring the number of queries and requests received through Irish. As the committee will be aware, the Department's principal customers are the Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, the Minister of State, the Government and the Oireachtas, through which it serves the public and its elected representatives. The Department also engages with other Departments and serving and retired staff in the public service.

In formulating its advice, the Department must have regard to the views of a wide range of interests, including the social partners, business and sectoral representatives, research forums and institutions and EU and international bodies. It must also consider the views and expectations of society at large. The nature of its functions and work means the Department does not have a high level of direct contact with, or provide schemes and services directly to, individual members of the general public. The number of Irish speakers available in the Department and its offices now stands at seven, ranging in grade from clerical officer to assistant principal. They are willing to provide services to the public through the medium of Irish.

As the committee will be aware, the Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform has responsibility for the Irish language in the Civil Service. While the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has overall responsibility for the Irish language in the Civil Service, each Department is ultimately responsible for identifying and addressing its Irish language needs, particularly with regard to the provision of public services in Gaeltacht areas. I do not intend to speak about the history of the Irish language in the Civil Service, other than to say the current arrangements were introduced in October 2013 following consideration of the award of bonus marks in competitions. The intention of this change was to increase the cohort of functional bilinguals in the Civil Service to reflect a more competency-based approach to recruitment and, where appropriate, promotion competitions. Reviews have been initiated by various Ministers with responsibility for Irish, the Gaeltacht and the islands.

Following concerns expressed about the current system of providing for functional bilinguals, the Government considered the matter in May of this year and agreed to publish an amending Bill to be called the official languages (amendment) Bill 2017. This Bill, along with the main language Act, will seek to ensure effective supports are in place for people who wish to carry out their affairs with the State through the Irish language. The main head in the Bill from the Department's perspective is head 9, the overall objectives of which are to ensure a certain percentage of new recruits to the public service are Irish speakers, to provide that all public offices in Gaeltacht areas operate through the medium of Irish and to increase the capacity of public bodies to provide public services through Irish. As is standard with any Bill, the Government decision provides for consultation with other Departments. This has taken place between officials in both Departments.

I want to mention an initiative that was taken by my Department and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in 2013 to improve the provision of language training proficiency for the Civil Service and certain public service organisations. The Department put in place a service level agreement with the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht for the provision of language training proficiency testing for the Civil Service and certain public service organisations. It is understood that Foras na Gaeilge has a contract in place with Gaelchultúr Teoranta for the provision of Irish language training to the public service. I understand that since 2013, some 304 civil servants and 4,744 other public service employees have attended courses run by Gaelchultúr. The purpose of the service level agreement was to support staff in developing their proficiency in the Irish language and to enhance the capacity of the Civil Service and other bodies to provide services to the public through Irish. The agreement is particularly important in the context of the Official Languages Act 2003 and the 20 year strategy for the Irish language, which runs from 2010 to 2030.

One of the key elements of the new Civil Service learning and development model is a common suite of training programmes. The suite contains 70 new training modules, two of which relate specifically to Irish language training. Following a tender process, Gaelchultúr Teoranta was the successful tenderer for Irish language training. The learning and development project team, along with other Irish language experts, has met Gaelchultúr's training specialists and has carried out an initial review of the existing accredited Irish language training programmes. A more indepth review is ongoing to ensure the current accredited Irish language training programmes fully address business needs.

As I have mentioned, Gaelchultúr has an existing tender to deliver Irish language training to the public sector. I understand this will expire in 2018. The learning and development framework, which is complementary to this contract, is for civil servants only and not for the wider public sector. This framework has a two-year duration up to 2019, with an option to extend for a further two years if necessary.

The new mobility scheme for clerical and executive officers, which was launched across the Civil Service last week, will not be fully operational until March 2018. It will allow staff members to mention their Irish language skills on their applications. It will be possible for people with such skills to be offered a mobility move out of sequence to an available position that requires a functional bilingual. I am sure the committee will accept that genuine efforts are being made to increase the number of functional bilinguals in the Civil Service. We do not suggest that the situation is ideal. As the committee will be aware, Ireland is coming out of a difficult economic period. Obviously, such issues have had some implications for our approach to recruitment, particularly with the surge in demand in recent years. I welcome the opportunity to hear the views of the committee. I will be happy to respond to questions and to provide more information and clarification.