Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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21. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the reason three quarters of the statutory language schemes, as proscribed in the Official Languages Act 2003, have expired without renewal since the end of 2012 with a quarter of them out of date for three years or more; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4000/14]

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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I refer the Deputy to previous parliamentary replies in regard to language schemes agreed under the Official Languages Act 2003, most recently Question No. 332 on 17 December 2013. I wish to reiterate that once a language scheme has been confirmed by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, in accordance with section 14(3) of the Act, it remains in force for a period of three years from the date on which it was confirmed, or until a new scheme has been confirmed, whichever is the later. Currently, almost 200 public bodies are covered by 113 language schemes and my Department is actively engaged in the process of agreeing inaugural and subsequent schemes with a large number of public bodies.

It is important to reiterate also that the agreement of language schemes is an ongoing process designed to improve the provision of State services in Irish over a period of time. It must be noted that the process can be challenging for public bodies, particularly having regard to current resource pressures. A range of measures to improve the effectiveness of the language scheme process is being considered in the context of the proposed Official Languages (Amendment) Bill 2014, the draft Heads of which will be submitted for Government approval in the near future.