Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh Mr. Roberts. He is welcome and I thank him. It is good to have him here and to get an outside perspective. I apologise; I was here earlier, left and returned, so I have missed some of the meeting. I do read documents, however, so I look forward to reading the submission in detail.

Wales changed to the standard scheme ten years ago. It is ten years in existence. Perhaps Mr. Roberts can outline the changes that have occurred over those ten years. He said there are 122 public bodies under the Welsh language standards. Are there more to come on board? What is the possible scope that could come under the remit of the commissioner? What are the difficulties, if any, Mr. Roberts is encountering in getting those bodies under his remit?

We have not had sight of any standards here, so we are working in a vacuum, although we have asked the Government to publish sample standards for us so we might know what to expect. Perhaps Mr. Roberts can help us in that regard. I note the Welsh standards are divided into five classes. I may have misread Mr. Roberts' submission as I read it quickly. There is no public consultation. The government decides on the standards. It makes the decision and then the consultation process starts with the public bodies as to which standard they should fit under. Is that correct?