Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I intend to take amendments Nos. 25, 28 and 29 together, as they place responsibilities on the commission in respect of the prominence of the Irish language in the electoral and democratic processes. I again thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for these amendments and we appreciate the good intent behind them. In respect of amendments Nos. 25 and 28, I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the signage, literature and ballot papers used at electoral events are produced bilingually and given equal prominence. Where polling places are located in Gaeltacht areas, signage is displayed in the Irish language only. These practices will remain in place into the future, notwithstanding the establishment of the electoral commission. Amendment No. 29 proposes assigning an additional regulatory function to the commission. The commission is taking on a significant number of functions from the outset. Being mindful of the need for the commission to get established and build up organisational capacity, it is not intended to add to these functions at the present time. However, it is planned that the commission will take on additional functions after it has been established and has built expertise and capacity. This provides an opportunity to consider assigning it additional functions. For the reasons outlined I am not in a position to accept the amendments. Again, I appreciate where the Deputy is coming from with the amendments. However, I would stress that the functions being assigned to the commission have been carefully considered after many detailed consultation processes around the functions in recent years. It has always been my intention to establish the commission and assign an initial set of functions to it. However, it is also important to note that as the commission builds capacity and expertise, additional functions can be assigned.