Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 396: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the percentage of the staff of her Department able to provide services through Irish; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14189/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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In a survey of staff in my Department in early 2005, approximately 3% of administrative staff and 40% of the inspectorate indicated fluency in Irish. Almost 50% of staff in the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, said they could deliver a partial service through Irish. My Department has always actively promoted the development of Irish language competency skills by refunding fees for recognised Irish courses pursued in an officer's own time and supporting staff attendance at Irish-language courses conducted by Gaeleagras. To support the implementation of the Official Languages Act an intensive language training programme for staff began in October 2005 and is being delivered, in the first place, to staff in those sections identified as having the greatest requirement for the delivery of services through Irish. Priority has also been given to staff with a good level of Irish who need refresher courses. This should increase staff numbers capable of providing a service to the public through Irish. Training includes modules on letter writing and official/technical terminology and takes place one day per week for an eight-week period and is delivered in-house by an outside provider. The second of these training programmes is almost completed. They will continue to be rolled out on a section-by-section basis. In addition, Irish language information resources are being developed and made available for all staff on my Department's intranet site.