Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 48: To ask the Minister for Community; Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs his plans to carry out a review of the working of the Official Languages Act 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39304/10]

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I refer the Deputy to my reply to Question No. 9 of 1 July in which I confirmed that my Department keeps the work of implementing the Official Languages Act 2003 under continuing review. Furthermore, there is an obligation on me, as Minister, to review the operation of the Act each year, as provided for in section 5 of the Act, and to report formally to the Houses of the Oireachtas in this regard. The reports for the years to 2009 are available in the Oireachtas Library.

While I am satisfied that considerable progress has been made to date in the implementation, on a phased basis, of the provisions of the Act, I consider it will not be possible to achieve everything in the short term. However, I am committed to the implementation of the Act and to the achievement of its objectives over time. The full implementation of the Act is one of the principles set out in the Government's policy statement on the Irish language, issued in December 2006, which forms the basis of the draft 20-year strategy for Irish. The Deputy will be aware that the Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Sport, Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs recently published a report on its recommendations on the strategy. These recommendations are being assessed by the relevant Departments and I hope to be in a position to seek the approval of Government to publish the strategy shortly.

I am also committed to ensuring that the Official Languages Act be implemented in as cost effective a way as possible, particularly having regard to the current economic climate. My Department will continue to approach these matters in a realistic, flexible and pragmatic way, especially in agreeing statutory language schemes. In this context, a significant number of resources are already in place to assist public bodies in meeting their obligations as cost effectively as possible.

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I request some latitude in trying to expand on this matter, which is by no means straightforward. The Official Languages Act requires local authority draft development plans to be produced simultaneously in Irish and English since they are key consultation documents. The requirement to publish official documents in Irish is strictly limited to very specific documents and does not encompass all official documents as often suggested in the media. In a recent newspaper article - I believe the one to which the Deputy referred - in October a figure of €300,000 was mentioned. This figure appears to suggest an estimate of the total cost of translating local authority development plans. As there are 34 local authorities and each development plan covers a six-year period, on the figures provided the cost to individual local authorities would appear to less than €1,500 annually for each local authority.

I refer Members to the reply to parliamentary questions on 3 February 2009 in respect of the cost associated with implementation of the Act since its enactment in 2003. Of the 15 Departments, 11 replied and when the figures are totalled my Department has estimated that the average direct cost per year amounted to €600,000, which is €55,000 per Department. I believe no fair-minded person would consider either or both of these costs excessive or unreasonable.

Regarding the cost of implementation of the Act to my Department in 2009, it has been a long-standing policy of my Department to ensure that customers, who wish to conduct their business through a choice of Irish or English, are facilitated. Accordingly, expenditure on providing services through Irish and English arises from our existing commitments to our customers and is met from our normal administrative budget. The Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga is funded under my Department's Vote. This is a statutory independent office whose role and functions are provided for in Part 4 of the Official Languages Act. The office spent €831,000 in 2009.

We are encouraging the implementation of the Act in a sensible and pragmatic way and whenever compact disks or on-line publishing of reports can be used, that should be done. I am afraid sometimes in a small number of areas some public bodies seem to be using the supposed cost of translation as a way of long-fingering the publishing of reports, which is unfortunate. However, I am satisfied that in the vast majority of cases any money spent is being spent appropriately and wisely.

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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This Government is complying and I am sure future Governments will comply with the determination of the courts on the status of the Irish language. It is no more or less than that. In nearly all cases public bodies are not only being compliant with the wishes of the court and the obligations of the Official Languages Act, but also being sensible in how they spend the taxpayers' money. I fully agree with the Deputy that we should not waste any money and I do not believe that the compliance with the determination of the courts and the obligations of the Official Languages Act is in any way a waste of public money.

Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Local authorities are effectively required to translate plans, which in my county and other counties can cost between €75,000 and €100,000. That money might be better spent at the coalface in providing Irish courses. In my county I do not believe anybody has ever asked for the plans in Irish. At this time of crisis it is appropriate to consider how that money might be better spent on promoting the Irish language.

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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I believe I addressed the issue earlier but I reiterate the point. The numbers of hard copies of draft development plans in Irish sold to the public should not be seen as a measure of their usage since they can be downloaded free of charge from local authority websites. It is important that local authorities should encourage the public to engage with them and the planning process in Irish as well as in English. To do otherwise would marginalise the Irish language.