Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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316. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he will inform the Council of the European Union by the end of the year that the Government intends to propose the ending of the derogation of the Irish language at a formal meeting in 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26566/14]

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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319. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the position regarding the official languages of the European Union and the request for An Taoiseach to end the derogation on the status of Irish in Europe immediately, and for the language to receive full status; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27256/14]

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 316 and 319 together.

A decision on whether or not to extend the derogation for the use of Irish in EU institutions for a further period of time is required by December 2015 at the latest. In this context, my Department, in conjunction with the Department of the Taoiseach, is engaged in discussions with various stakeholders, including the EU institutions, in order to formulate specific proposals on the optimal approach to the derogation. This matter will be brought forward for consideration by Government in due course.

It should also be noted that, as part of the Government's strategy to ensure that a sufficient number of qualified personnel are available to meet the needs arising from the recognition of Irish as an official and working language of the EU, my Department continues to provide substantial funding for a range of specialised third level courses and for the development of Irish language terminology for the EU terminology database, InterActive Terminology for Europe (IATE).