Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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587. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way in which her Department and agencies under her remit facilitate persons wishing to engage with their services through the Irish language; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21899/21]

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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588. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if all forms issued by her Department and agencies under her remit are available in both the Irish and English languages; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21917/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 587 and 588 together.

My Department makes every effort to facilitate persons wishing to engage with its services through the Irish language on an ongoing basis, with a keen understanding that the largest customer base for services in Irish are the primary and post-primary school sectors and in particular schools where instruction is carried out through the medium of Irish.  Full details of the services the Department is committed to providing can be found in the Department’s fourth Irish Language Scheme, available on the Department’s website at the following link: . The scheme was published in February 2020 and will be in place until 2023.

Examples of some of the key services my Department currently provides are as follows:

- Where a person communicates in writing or by electronic mail in an official language with the Department, they will be responded to in the same language.

- The Department operates an Irish-language telephone line and commits to responding to callers within 1 working day by a member of staff who can deal with queries in Irish.

- Where the Department communicates in writing or by electronic mail with the general public or a class of the general public for the purpose of furnishing information, the Department ensures that the communication is in the Irish language or in both official languages.

- The Payroll Division of the Department will issue payslips, and other correspondence in Irish to payees on the Primary Teachers Payroll, Post Primary Payroll, Non -Teaching Staff Payroll and Retirees Payroll on request.

- The Department will ensure that all appropriate web pages contained within the main structure of www.education.ie will be bilingual.

My Department publishes a number of documents simultaneously in Irish and English in keeping with the Irish Language Scheme and it also publishes various application forms relating to issues such as payroll services or primary administration in Irish.

The information in respect of state bodies, within the scope of the Deputy’s question, is not held by my Department. Contact details for these bodies are set out in the attached document, should the Deputy wish to contact the aegis bodies directly with this query.

Note 1 – The designated officer responsible within An Chomhairle um Oideachais Gaeltachta is Muireann Ní Mhóráin

Note 2 - The spelling of the NCCA e-mail address to which Oireachtas queries may be addressed has been verified with the NCCA as being accurate.