Mr. Donncha Ó Súilleabháin:

The Deputy asked a few different questions. As he noted, we have been speaking mainly about the services provided directly by the Department itself. That is principally because, under the Official Languages Act, many of the large agencies under the aegis of the Department are designated bodies required to produce, administer and implement their own schemes. An Garda Síochána is in that category, as is the Courts Service, the Irish Prison Service, the Legal Aid Board, and some others. The Department is not directly involved in administering the Irish language scheme in An Garda Síochána. That is in keeping with the general institutional approach whereby the Garda Commissioner is responsible for managing the force, its resources, deployment, and so on. Due to our position in the sector, we are aware of the work An Garda Síochána is doing around the Irish language. I can speak a little bit about it in general terms but I just want to make clear that it is not at my direction or something in which I have decision-making role per se.

The Garda Síochána has an Irish language scheme. The Garda Síochána Act provides that "the Garda Commissioner shall determine the manner in which the Garda Síochána are to be distributed and stationed throughout the State". In carrying out this function, the section further states: "The Garda Commissioner shall, to the extent practicable, ensure that members of the Garda Síochána stationed in a district that includes a Gaeltacht area are sufficiently competent in the Irish language to enable them to use it with facility in carrying out their duties." The Garda authorities have taken a range of steps around that. The force has an Irish language co-ordinator.

Since 2013, it has had a specialist Irish language recruitment route in An Garda Síochána, which has started to bring people through who can be deployed to Gaeltacht areas, having established their proficiency to a level of fluency. It has also invested extensively in in-service training, particularly in areas where there is a particular requirement for Irish language skills. I also have information, which is in the public domain, that a Garda headquarters directive from September 2018 has put in place a new process whereby sergeants and gardaí who are interested in transferring to a Gaeltacht Garda station must pass an oral Irish proficiency test. That programme is being put in place in consultation with an Coimisinéir Teanga, the idea being there will be a panel from which suitably qualified people can then be selected and deployed. There is a considerable amount of effort under way on the part of An Garda Síochána, and as was said, there have been various attempts to pre-plan in particular situations, but those are ultimately decisions for the Garda Commissioner in assigning resources rather than for the Department.