Mr. Denis O'Sullivan:

In respect of the training of existing staff, 12 staff members in the Department are undergoing training at varying levels in the form of 30 hour modules. Twelve staff members came forward for that in 2018. A total of 24 have been trained and educated over the past four years at varying levels from foundation up to level 6, if that is the highest level. The other initiative which the Secretary General referenced earlier is the informal caife le Gaeilge. It is for all of us in the building. We see a group of people having a cup of coffee and speaking in their native language once a fortnight. I gather that the numbers coming forward for that have grown since it began.

If we look at our obligations under the scheme and as a Department, one of the discussions we had coming over was about the proportion of our website available in Irish. While 50% coverage of the website represents an increase over the 40% target we set when we first responded to the questionnaire, we asked ourselves what constitutes an acceptable level of coverage and how high it might be. There is no set figure but one of the things I will be doing over the next while is looking at the capacity to increase that volume and the value of doing so.

Another volumetric is the proportion of press releases released in Irish. We have exceeded the target that was set but again we ask what constitutes a reasonable delivery of simultaneously released translations for the Department. That is another issue at which we will look.

We have a very strong learning and development function in the Department. That came out as a very strong feature of the Department in the Civil Service employee engagement survey. Staff at all levels are being encouraged to come forward for training and their managers are freeing them up for it. I have not signed up yet, but perhaps when I see the committee the next time I will have.