Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is one thing that always stands out to me and that I do not understand. It is something we can probably use in the Dáil Chamber but it is not used, although it will be seen in other countries. I think it was in use when Ursula von der Leyen was here. I am sure the Minister sees it all the time in his other role. We do not use the interpretation services in the Chamber. Sometimes things I want to raise affect places where people speak Irish. Sometimes, however, I might have only a certain amount of time to speak, and then I will have to choose one language in which to speak because, obviously, I want the Minister to be able to answer my question. I am not trying to trick him or her out; I am just trying to get the answer to the question. However, I also want to represent the people in the language they speak and use daily. The interpretation services are something we all should probably look into using more in that sense. It should not be considered that a Member is caught out if he or she uses headphones. They should be seen as just normal to use - as they would be in other countries and, surely, in the EU and so on - because we use different languages in this State.

To move on to Vote 18, relating to the National Shared Services Office, can the Minister confirm how many public bodies it was intended the NSSO would serve and how many it currently serves? Furthermore, how many bodies have yet to be brought in under the NSSO?