Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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62. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform further to Parliamentary Question No. 116 of 15 November 2022, the status of his Department's work to date on the implementation of the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021; if he will provide an update on his Department's role on the Irish Languages Services Advisory Committee, particularly in relation to the preparation of the national plan to increase the provision of services through Irish and survey the number of Irish speakers employed by the public service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10383/23]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As the deputy is aware, the Irish Language Services Advisory Committee was established by the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in June 2022 pursuant to section 18 of the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021. Since then, representatives from my Department and the Public Appointments Service have been actively participating in this Committee through attendance at regular meetings and other bilateral conversations.

Under the Act, the primary focus of this Committee is to prepare a National Plan for Irish Language Services, which is to be submitted to the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media for approval by mid-2024. The overarching goal of this plan is to reach the ambitious recruitment target laid down in Act that at least 20% of staff in the public sector will be competent in the Irish language by 31 December 2030. Arising from that Plan, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media will also set dates by which all public services in and for the Gaeltacht will be made available in the Irish language and by which all public offices in the Gaeltacht will operate through the medium of Irish.

In line with its functions under the Act, the Committee approved the commissioning of research at its first meeting, which will inform the preparation of the National Plan. A Request for Tender for this contract was announced at the end of August last (2022) and the awarding of a one year research contract to the University of Galway was announced before Christmas. This research will look to:

· identify the gaps in the current provision of public services through the medium of Irish and recommend strategies to address them;

· identify the public services provided in Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas (“LPAs”) and recommend strategies to ensure that Irish is the working language of those offices located in LPAs and that these services are provided through the medium of Irish;

o identify the current level of Irish language competence in the public sector;

o Make recommendations on recruiting Irish speakers.

In relation to the survey on the number of Irish speakers employed by the public service, the Deputy will note that it is stipulated under the Act that every 5 years after the establishment of the Advisory Committee, it will carry out and submit to the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, a survey on the level of competence in the Irish language of staff of public bodies, and such survey will include the following:

I. the total number of staff of public bodies who are competent in the Irish language;

II. the total number of staff of public bodies who have undertaken an Irish language training course; and

III. the total number of staff of public bodies who speak the Irish language in the workplace, whether when carrying out their duties or otherwise, and the frequency with which they speak the Irish language.

In line with this, the first survey on the matter is to be submitted to the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media by 19 June 2027.

In addition, existing civil servants are being encouraged to pursue Irish language training courses via OneLearning, the Learning and Development Centre for the civil service based in my Department. At the start of 2023, OneLearning launched a new term of Irish language courses which will commence on 6^thof March, 2023. Under a pilot scheme offered since the autumn of last year, courses provided by Gaelchultúr to civil servants on behalf of OneLearning are now certified by Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (“TEG”). TEG, provides a series of general Irish language proficiency examinations and qualifications and is the first certified system of its kind for adult learners of the Irish language in Ireland. A mix of full and partial TEG certification, depending on level, has been offered under the pilot scheme to date with the intention of full TEG certification being rolled out for all levels by the end of 2023. 583 enrolled in OneLearning Irish Language training in 2022. The enrolment for 2023 Irish language training is currently underway and 280 individuals are currently enrolled.

With the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, on which the TEG system is based, specifically mentioned in the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021, TEG qualifications will hold a particular value in the coming years for both learners and employers alike, as people with specific language skills will be sought for a wide variety of diverse roles across the civil and public service. Both Departments are examining ways to further support Irish-language learners within the system as well as creating more awareness around the language. One such additional measure to be taken is the addition of language awareness elements to some of OneLearning’s courses, focusing initially on customer service and junior managers.

In relation to the dedicated recruitment and promotion competitions targeted at Irish language speakers, PAS has held general civil service competitions for individuals with fluency in Irish at Clerical Officer, Executive Officer, Higher Executive Officer and Principal Officer levels. There are currently panels in place for Irish posts at CO, EO and HEO levels and these panels will be drawn from as requests are received from Departments and Offices. The CO panel is due to expire on 30^thJune 2023, the EO panel is due to expire on 29^thFebruary 2024 and HEO panel on 31^stDecember 2023. New competitions will be considered closer to the expiry date of each current panel.

In addition, some Departments or Government Officers may also plan to recruit fluent speakers directly under their local recruitment licence instead of through PAS.