Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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183. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the progress made on implementing all aspects of the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010 to 2030 that are relevant to his Department and bodies under his remit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8612/19]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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The 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language outlines an integrated approach to the Irish language. It identifies nine areas of action: education; the Gaeltacht; the family; public services; the media and technology; dictionaries; legislation; the economy; and cross-cutting initiatives. Responsibility for implementation within the State bodies under my remit is an operational matter and those bodies have been requested to respond directly to the Deputy. The aspects of the Strategy which are relevant to my Department are being implemented as follows:

In October 2016, my Department put in place its second Irish Language Scheme under the Official Languages Act 2003. The scheme was prepared with a view to developing and advancing the level and quality of service which the Department provides to Irish language speakers. The Scheme remains in force for a period of three years and my Department will commence work on its third scheme later this year with a view to having our third Irish Language scheme in place by October.

My Department has taken several measures to improve its Irish Language output. Our Irish Language Scheme sets a target of 20% of press releases to be published in Irish. However, in the second half of last year my Department began to target the publication of 100% of press releases in Irish. The following table sets out the progress made in recent years:

In addition to meeting its obligations under Section 10 of the Official Languages Act 2003, to publish certain documents in both official languages simultaneously, my Department publishes other corporate documents, such as the Customer Charter and Customer Action Plan, the Farmers’ Charter of Rights, our Statement of Strategy and the Schemes and Services booklet, in both Irish and English. Budgetary constraints prevent the publication of every document in Irish.

Correspondence to my Department in Irish is responded to in Irish. Business areas of my Department in receipt of correspondence in the Irish language are assisted, where necessary, in translating the response into Irish. The quality of the response to correspondence in Irish is equal to that of the response to correspondence in English.

In May 2018, my Department ran a competitive procurement process, in conjunction with the Office of Government Procurement, and subsequently engaged in a contract with a service provider for the provision of Irish translation services. This contract has enhanced the timeliness of translation services provided to my Department and in turn the ability of my Department to respond efficiently to Irish Language correspondence.

One of the nine areas for action under the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030 is the provision of services in the Gaeltacht. My Department provides services through Irish in our two offices in Gaeltacht areas, thus helping with two of the objectives of the strategy related to the Gaeltacht:

- The Irish language community inside and outside the Gaeltacht will be given encouragement and support to transmit Irish to the next generation as a living household language. Towards this end, a wide range of services in Irish will be provided.

- The Gaeltacht will be given special support as an Irish-speaking area.

Both of my Department’s Gaeltacht offices are Fishery Harbour Centres. One is located in Ros a Mhíl, Co. Galway and the other in An Daingean, Co. Kerry. These offices represent the most direct interface which my Department has with Irish speakers and, as a consequence, their capacity to provide a high level of services through Irish is very important to the Department and its customers.

In the two offices, of the 13 staff employed, 10 can fully transact Department business in Irish while the remaining three members of staff have conversational Irish. My Department therefore can provide a full service through Irish where it has offices in Gaeltacht areas.

With a view to maintaining and enhancing Irish Language competencies at these two Fishery Harbour Centres, my Department is committed to filling all future vacancies with Irish speakers as far as possible. All competitions which involve posts headquartered in an office situated in a Gaeltacht area will place requirements in terms of Irish and English on an equal standing. However, it is necessary that my Department reserves the right to fill a post in a Gaeltacht area with a non-Irish speaker if no suitably qualified Irish language speaker presents. It is hoped that this will not be necessary but my Department must ensure that it carries out its functions at Fishery Harbour Centres.

In the context of Government policy for enhanced provision of services in Irish, in addition to what has been outlined above regarding our two Gaeltacht offices, my Department has identified a further four posts which require functional bilinguals. This is with a view to being able to facilitate customers who wish to transact business through Irish. Three of these posts are currently filled by officers with competence in Irish. My Department was unable to recruit an Irish speaker to fill the remaining post but hopes to be able to do so when the opportunity arises. In particular, these designated posts enhance the ability of my Department to provide services through Irish in areas where there is a demand including Cork, Kerry, Donegal, Mayo, Leitrim and Galway. In accordance with Government policy, future language schemes of my Department will specify the posts/areas which have an Irish language competency requirement.