Holly Cairns (Cork South-West, Social Democrats)
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1087. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the expected timeframe for the publication of the 3-Year Action Plan for 2025-2027 for the National Plan for Irish Language Public Services; to detail the objectives of the action plan; to detail any impact the plan will have on the provision of public services in the Gaeltacht areas over the next three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19132/25]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Central to my Department's efforts in the move towards a bilingual public service is the full and successful implementation of the Official Languages Acts. The work under the Acts is critical in terms of embedding the Irish language as an integral part of the provision of public services in this country and empowering speakers of the language to use it in their dealings with the State.

The publication of the first National Plan for Irish Language Public Services in October last year represented a significant step forward in this regard. This research-based plan is the result of close collaboration at senior level between the organisations represented on the statutory Advisory Committee established under the Act, including my own Department as Chair, as well as the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, the Department of Education, the Department of Social Protection, the Health Service Executive, the Local Government Management Agency, An Garda Síochána, and Publicjobs, to name but a few.

It is intended that this National Plan - which is based on five major strategic themes - will serve as a roadmap for public bodies in terms of systematically increasing and improving the number and quality of Irish language public services so provided, along with achieving the Act's 20% recruitment target - that by 31 December 2030, at least 20% of recruits to public bodies will be competent in Irish.

As the Deputy has mentioned, this National Plan is to be supported through two 3-year Action Plans – the first covering the period 2025-2027. These plans will set out the specific measures to be taken to achieve the objectives of the Advisory Committee and the Act generally. My officials are working closely with the Advisory Committee and other stakeholders to finalise the first Action Plan without delay, with it planned to submit this to Government for approval and publication in the coming months.

In addition to this work, my officials are working on a number of strategies to increase the supply of individuals who are competent in Irish to ensure the improved level and quality of public services provided to Gaeltacht communities and Irish speakers generally, such as:

• The development and promotion of the Irish language public sector network, which was established last year to support Irish speakers and learners in using their Irish in a professional and social context. My Department is to provide funding support of over €1m in this regard over a 3 year period, 2024-2026;
• A review, which is currently underway, of the Advanced Irish Language Skills Initiative, to ensure that it can respond to the specific needs of the public service in Ireland in the coming years;
• The development of apprenticeships through which language skills could be developed, in line with a commitment in this regard in the Public Service Apprenticeship Plan;
• The development of a large-scale national awareness campaign to highlight, particularly among young people, the employment opportunities through Irish in their chosen profession in the public sector.

A great deal of work has been ongoing since the enactment of the 2021 Act 3 years ago, and this work will accelerate in the first half of 2025 to ensure that the various elements start coming together, between the National and Action Plan, the language standards, and the remaining provisions of the Act that were commenced at the end of last year. Much of this work is already visible to the public with the success for example of the advertising provision, and this will now be built upon in a significant way in the period ahead.