Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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701. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps being taken to promote the use of Irish in her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14172/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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My Department is committed to the provision of a quality service in both official languages and in this regard, its Irish Language Scheme 2013-2016 contains a range of commitments in relation to the provision of services through Irish. These include the introduction and enhancement of systems to ensure the provision of Irish versions of certain Department publications and to facilitate the collation of data from schools and the public in Irish; increasing the amount of material in Irish on the Department's website and increasing the capacity within the Department for the provision of services through Irish in general through training and development opportunities.

A number of measures have been introduced to improve and enhance the services provided through Irish to Gaeltacht and all-Irish schools by the Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) and the Inspectorate, including the provision of targeted Irish language training, the translation of resources into Irish and the implementation of recruitment policy to allow for the continued delivery of services through Irish.

As part of its ongoing implementation of the 20 Year Strategy for Irish, my Department has also put a range of support measures in place in relation to curriculum, assessment and teacher education. This work has included a review by the Inspectorate of Gaeltacht education in order to clarify its policy in relation to education in Gaeltacht schools.

The Department's Staff Training and Development Unit (STDU) is committed to providing appropriate training and development opportunities, including Irish Language training, for all staff to meet priority business needs.