Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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37. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of persons recruited to date to the Civil Service on panels specifically reserved for those with a competency in Irish; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46027/19]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Irish Language is an important area for the Government. 

The Public Appointments Service (PAS) is an independent, statutory body which provides professional recruitment and selection services to the civil and public service. 

PAS is also responsible for the recruitment and selection of candidates with proficiency in Irish to meet the needs of clients, and providing such candidates in a timely manner.  PAS initially included Irish language proficiency as a separate stream for general service recruitment competitions. 

More recently, stand-alone competitions are being held to establish panels for entry grades; in these cases, all of the selection processes are conducted through Irish.  This included a Clerical Officer competition in 2018 and we are currently planning Executive Officer and Higher Executive Officer competitions for candidates with fluency in Irish. 

General Service Grade Assignments to Irish Language Posts Since 2016 are set out in the table:

PAS also recruits Garda Trainees and have run numerous Recruitment Campaigns for the Garda Trainee position since 2013.The statistics for the Irish element of these competitions are set out in the following table:

PAS also recruits for posts across the public service where the ability to communicate effectively in Irish is an essential requirement.  Since 2013 PAS has recruited for the following: