Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 343: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the amount of his Department's budgetary allocation for 2004; the amount of this allocation which was returned to the Department of Finance at year's end; the vote head from which such returned allocations were derived; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23977/05]

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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The funding provided for my Department under Vote 35 and the surplus surrendered to the Department of Finance for 2004 is set out in the following table.

The net surplus is derived mainly from savings on subheads B6, tourism product development, C1, sports capital grants, and D5, cultural development together with an excess spend on subhead C2, grants for local authority swimming pools and a shortfall in appropriations-in-aid. My ministerial Vote group also includes the Vote for the National Gallery of Ireland, Vote 33. The funding provided for the National Gallery and the surplus surrendered for the year in question is set out in the following.

The surplus on this Vote is derived from the administration subheads A1 to A7.

Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 344: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the amount his Department has spent to date in 2005 on the implementation of the provisions of the Official Languages Act 2003; his estimate of the amount which his Department will spend on the implementation of the Official Languages Act 2003 for the full year in 2005; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Fianna Fail)
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Prior to the enactment of the Official Languages Act 2003, my Department was already meeting the required standards of bilingual practice in areas, for example, such as stationery and in the placing of public advertisements. The costs arising to date in 2005 amount to €2,000. My Department was included in the first tranche of public bodies required to produce an Irish language scheme under section 11 of the Official Languages Act. Following a public consultation process, such a scheme was prepared by my Department in line with the central guidelines prepared by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs on preparation of language schemes. The scheme, which covers the three year period 2005-08, was recently confirmed by my colleague the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív, and becomes effective on 1 July 2005. A copy of the scheme will be available on the Department's website on 1 July. It is estimated that the total costs arising from the implementation of the Official Languages Act 2003 for the full year 2005 will be approximately €45,000. These costs which include staff training costs will be met from within my Department's existing budget.