Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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233. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the arrangements put in place by his Department to ensure compliance with the Official Languages Act, specifically requirements for signage in departmental offices, schools, third level institutions; details of any assessments undertaken by Departmental staff to assess requirements; the number of signs assessed; when any corrective actions were put in place; if any or all of the actions taken by his Department were within the designated timeframes set out in legislation, and if not the reasoning for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40544/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Government Departments are required to comply with the Regulations made by the Minister for Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht under section 9(1) of the Official Languages Act 2003. Under the Regulations, Departments have a duty to ensure that certain signage is provided in Irish only, or in English and Irish, in accordance with specific criteria set out in the Regulations. The Regulations provide for the requirements in relation to the different categories of signage specified to come into effect over a period of time. In this regard all new signs placed on any of my Department's sites since 1 March 2009 are in compliance with the Regulations.

During 2012/13 an audit of all signage took place in my Department's offices in Dublin, Athlone and Tullamore to ensure compliance with the Regulations. As part of this audit, a total of 405 signs were examined on the Department's three sites. A small number of signs were identified as coming under a category of signage for which the requirements under the Regulations will come into effect from 1st January 2026. These will be amended in due course to comply with that deadline. My Department's offices in Dublin and Tullamore were subject to compliance inspections by Oifig an Choimisinéara Teanga during September 2013. A report of these compliance inspections will be provided to officials in due course.

Schools do not come under the provisions of the Official Languages Act 2003 or the Regulations, except in the case where a school forms an integral part of an Education and Training Board (formerly a VEC). Third level institutions are considered to be public bodies for the purposes of the Act. Under subsections 21(a) and 21(b) of the Official Languages Act 2003, it is a function of An Coimisinéir Teanga to monitor and ensure compliance by named public bodies with the provisions of the Act.