Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

31. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht when he will introduce the Official Languages (Amendment) Bill 2014; if he has consulted with the Irish language community on this legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24467/14]

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In accordance with a commitment given in the Programme for Government 2011-2016, my Department has undertaken a review of the Official Languages ​​Act 2003. That commitment specified that a review be undertaken of the Act to ensure that expenditure on Irish is best used to develop the language and that obligations are imposed appropriately in response to demands from citizens. As part of the review, 1,400 survey responses and 262 submissions were received during a public consultation process. The findings of the review, of which the public consultation process was an integral part, were published on my Department’s website on 4 April 2014. As the Official Languages (Amendment) Bill 2014 is on the A list of the Government's Legislative Programme, it is planned to publish it prior to the summer recess. However, this timeframe depends on a number of factors, including the drafting process itself and the ongoing discussions with key stakeholders on the Heads of the Bill. In this context and in accordance with Government policy, the Heads of the Bill were referred to the Joint Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht on 27 May 2014. That Committee, through the work of its Sub-Committee on the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language, has met with various stakeholders, including officials from my Department, An Coimisinéir Teanga and representatives from various Irish language organisations. I will, of course, be happy to consider any recommendations that the Committee may wish to make in regard to the Heads of the Bill.