Mr. Guy Mahon:

We do not measure demand specifically. Our focus is on having Irish-speaking staff in Gaeltacht areas. Moving slightly away from inspections, we have two offices in Gaeltacht areas, one in Ros an Mhíl and one in an Daingean. We have 13 staff members in those offices, ten of whom can conduct business fully in Irish. From a pragmatic point of view, our primary focus is on ensuring that staff based in offices in Gaeltacht areas can conduct business in Irish. We are happy that business can be conducted with our customers fully in Irish on a day-to-day basis in our fishery harbour centres in Ros an Mhíl and an Daingean. As I have said, ten of the staff can conduct business fully through Irish. The other three have good conversational Irish and some of them are undertaking further study.

To return to inspections, we have three designated agricultural officers to cover the western coast and they can go further afield. We are caught between providing service through Irish and EU regulations on providing the short notice period which the Deputy has mentioned. We may have to examine how we can satisfy the two competing demands.