Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We are working on it now because it is a very challenging area. As the Deputy will know, the Oireachtas enacted the Official Languages (Amendment) Act on 22 December 2021. That Act includes a target that one fifth of all new hires by 2030 must be proficient in Irish. We have a long way to go. At the moment, according to an audit undertaken by the Irish language commissioner in 2022, it is estimated that 0.4% of posts are designated as Irish-speaking and that only 1% of hires to the Civil Service annually are certified as fluent in Irish. We therefore have a lot of work to do now to make progress on fulfilling that goal in the legislation. The Public Appointments Service, PAS, is now holding general Civil Service competitions in Irish at clerical officer level all the way up to principal officer, PO, level. As the Deputy will know, it is already the case that some Departments and Government offices may recruit fluent Irish speakers through their local recruitment licences as well. We also have a research project under way with the University of Galway that will lead to the preparation of a national plan for Irish-language services.