Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Question 227: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the languages in which his Department's telephone messages are recorded; and if his Department's messages include a version in the Irish language. [11886/07]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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During normal office hours, people phoning my Department's main numbers are usually greeted personally in Irish in Gaeltacht based offices and in Irish, or Irish and English (bilingually), in other offices.

Outside of normal office hours, callers hear either a recorded message in Irish or a bilingual recording in Irish and English.

Where a direct dial number is used (i.e. where the caller has the direct number of a particular person or business unit) and the phone is unattended, the caller will be invited by recorded message to leave a message. That recorded message can be in Irish, be bilingual, or be in English, depending on how the person being called has set up their voicemail. In Gaeltacht based offices or offices dealing with Irish language matters, staff record such messages in Irish while in other offices staff record such messages bilingually or, more usually, callers will be invited in English to leave a message.