Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 308: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the number of times the sub-committee tasked with examining the recommendations of an staidéar teangeolaíochta ar usáid na Gaeilge sa Ghaeltacht has met; when each meeting took place. [3357/09]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 309: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs when he will act on the recommendations of an staidéar teangeolaíochta ar usáid na Gaeilge sa Ghaeltacht. [3358/09]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 308 and 309 together.

I refer the Deputy to my reply to Question No. 891 on 27 January 2009. As the Deputy is aware, the Report of the Linguistic Study on the Use of Irish in the Gaeltacht was presented to Government in late 2007 and was subsequently published. The Government noted the Report and established a Cabinet Committee to consider matters arising in the context of the analysis and recommendations of the Report, and to agree an integrated action plan to secure the future of Irish as the community language in the Gaeltacht. Work is continuing in this regard in conjunction with the ongoing development of a 20-year Strategy for the Irish Language.

The Cabinet Committee met on 10 April 2008 and 23 July 2008. A number of meetings have also taken place of personnel from the Senior Officials Group, which is assisting the Committee in its work. The next meeting of the Cabinet Committee is scheduled to take place on 18 February 2009.

Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 310: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the cost to his Department, in each year since its introduction, of implementing the provisions of the Official Languages Act 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3406/09]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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At the outset I wish to remind the Deputy that it has been a long-standing policy of my Department to ensure that customers who wish to conduct their business through a choice of Irish or English are facilitated. Accordingly, expenditure on providing services through Irish and English arises from our existing commitments to our customers and is met from our normal administrative budget. It is not possible, therefore, readily to separate out the bilingual or Irish language dimension from the overall cost of running my Department and of its service delivery. In this context, and indeed as part of its commitment to the principles of Quality Customer Service even prior to the coming into effect of the Official Languages Act 2003, almost all classes of documentation intended for public dissemination, including advertisements, were published by my Department in both Irish and English and signage is provided in Irish or bilingually. Staff in many of my Department's organisational units are in a position to provide services through Irish or English, as required by the customer, at no extra cost.

I should also point out that the language scheme adopted my Department under the Official Languages Act details specific additional commitments in relation to improved delivery of the services of my Department through the Irish language. All of these commitments, both long-standing and new, have been, and will continue to be, delivered from within the overall budgets available to my Department.

Additionally, as Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, I have overall responsibility to ensure that the provisions of the Official Languages Act are implemented and that the primary objective of the Act, which is to ensure better availability and a higher standard of public services through Irish, is achieved. Consequently, in the years immediately following the enactment of the Act, my Department incurred certain once-off costs, such as the publication of statutory guidelines as required under section 12 of the Act, as well as the publication of my own Department's language scheme in 2004. It is estimated that these costs came to some €55,600 in total during the years since 2003.

Finally, the Deputy will be aware that Oifig an Choimisinéir Teanga is funded under my Department's Vote. This is a statutory, independent office whose role and functions are provided for in Part 4 of the Official Languages Act. The following sums were spent by the office since its establishment in 2004: