Results 9,021-9,040 of 15,389 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: Gabhaim buíochas leis an gcoiste as an deis chun labhairt leis inniu maidir leis na riachtanais Ghaeilge laistigh den Gharda Síochána agus maidir le cur chun cinn na Gaeilge i mo Roinn féin. In éindí liom anseo inniu, as mo Roinn, tá Doncha Ó Súilleabháin, rúnaí cúnta; Mary McKenna, príomhoifigeach; agus Micheál...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: As the Senator has acknowledged, we have fantastic Gaeltacht areas in my own country. I work as closely as I can with them to support them in ensuring that they remain and that they can prosper and flourish. As he outlined, the figures speak for themselves. The fact that 466 people have applied under this new stream is fantastic considering the number applying in 2019 was 129. With regard...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: The process is the same. There certainly will not be a lower standard, such as the Senator mentioned, or anything like that depending on the language people speak. We have asked that people be proficient in at least one language other than English. We are not singling out Irish or any other language and creating a different process. There is obviously a physical test that takes place in...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: Where there is not a separate process and we are not treating different languages differently, it is very hard to tell what the number will be. The 20% target is for 2030. We hope to have another round as soon as possible after this round and we will open up the application process again in the coming years. If we spread that figure of 466 - and I hope we will have a similar number if not...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: My understanding is that 5,000 people applied in 2019.

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: My understanding is that the figure is of those who are proficient in Irish. It is part of the application process that one has to say which language-----

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: My apologies.

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: Our significant focus this time was on telling people about the recruitment process. There was a particular focus on diversity and we very much tried to ensure this time that different communities and groups were aware of the fact that this competition was open and that more women were going to apply. That in itself applied also to our Irish community and Irish speakers. This was due to...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: I thank the Deputy. I will come back to the Deputy’s original question. We do not know exactly and we do not have clarity from the people who applied as to why they did so, but perhaps the new strategy itself is a signal to members who are applying that there is a Gaeltacht strategy or an Irish-language strategy within An Garda Síochána with a real focus now, and that there...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: That is out of 1,500. I was not sure of the overall figure for the Department.

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: The figures I mentioned are people who have sought out lessons to improve and become proficient but, as Mr. Ó Cearúil has said, there are quite a number of people who are proficient when they come to the Department. I do not know if there is a way of identifying how many in the Department have Irish, but if there is, it might be helpful to give that to the committee.

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: I am sorry to say I do not have those figures but I can get them for the Deputy.

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: There is an interview process. I would not call it a test but there is an interview process whereby, if somebody is selected who has Irish as a language, he or she will have to show he or she is proficient. I am sure there are people who put down that they are proficient in Irish when they may not be, but it is important that if someone says they are proficient in a language, particularly...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: I fully support the Deputy in that. It is very important, not just for the gardaí but for the Prison Service, the Court Service and all agencies that fall under the remit of the Department of Justice, that they clearly set out their Irish-language strategies and plans. Earlier, I mentioned the 2030 target for the 20% of recruits. In order to reach that, all our agencies need to make...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: It is very difficult to tell how many Irish speakers will come through the process, but our focus and priority was to make sure that people applied in the first instance. The more people apply, the more people will go through the process and be successful at interview stage as well as subsequent stages, which will hopefully increase our overall numbers. It is regrettable that there is a...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: I refer to removing the barrier. As the Deputy has said, I and others believe the increase in numbers has happened for a number of different reasons, including communications and outreach. What was happening before clearly was not working, we were not seeing those numbers increase in the way we wanted and this requirement was preventing others from applying. The Commission on the Future of...

Joint Committee on the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community: An tAire Dlí agus Cirt: Plé. (30 Mar 2022)

Helen McEntee: I am not sure what the accent is; maybe Roscommon. The Deputy made a point about Letterkenny and this is a Garda station that will be a service station and a training station. Those who are going to Letterkenny will have an opportunity to learn their essential policing skills and to make use of their Irish-language skills, which is welcome and the Deputy has been passionate about making...