Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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224. To ask the Minister for Defence the number of vacancies which exist within his Department for candidates who must display competence in the Irish language; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5431/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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There are no positions within the Department of Defence which require personnel to display competence in the Irish language. The Department has limited interaction with the general public and, consequently, has a low demand for services through the medium of the Irish language. As provided for in its current and previous Irish Language Schemes, the Department draws from a pool of personnel which has been established on a voluntary basis to assist the Branches of the Department in providing services through the medium of Irish and to address customer interaction if required. There are currently six personnel in the pool who have volunteered to assist with the provision of services through Irish and this has proved adequate to meet the needs arising. The pool of volunteers is kept under ongoing review.