Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 242: To ask the Minister for Finance if the special allowance for public servants who provide a service through Irish is still available; the amount paid out under this allowance in the past three years; the number of public servants involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23694/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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There are no allowances payable in the civil service or the Defence Forces for the provision of a service through Irish. In the education sector there are two allowances paid to teachers in first and second-level schools who provide a service through Irish. There is an allowance for teaching through Irish paid to teachers in Gaelscoileanna and Scoileanna lán Gaeilge of €1,472 per annum (as at 1 December 2005). A second allowance of €2,849 per annum (as at 1 December 2005) is payable to teachers in the Gaeltacht. Teachers can only receive one of these allowances. The allowances are not paid to other education staff.

Certain local authority officers receive a Gaeltacht allowance under regulations set out in Statutory Instrument 221 of 1966. Under these regulations a local authority may pay an office holder additional remuneration, not exceeding 7.5% of the annual basic salary of the office holder, where her/his duties are performed mainly or entirely in the Gaeltacht and the local authority is satisfied that s/he possesses a sufficient knowledge of the Irish language to enable her or him to perform the duties of the office competently through Irish. The same arrangements apply in the health service as in local authorities.

In the Garda Síochána, a Gaeltacht allowance equal to 7.5% of basic pay is payable to members up to and including Chief Superintendent. The allowance is payable only in areas where Irish is the general medium of speech and where all the members of the Force are proficient in Irish and are required to perform their duties through Irish. I understand that the Gaeltacht allowance payable to the Garda Síochána is the subject of a separate question to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

Details of the amounts paid out in the last three years and the numbers in receipt of the aforementioned allowances are not readily available. If the Deputy requires this information I suggest that he direct questions to the relevant Ministers.