Press release
32 Amendments to strengthen the Official Languages (Amendment) Bill approved
From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
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From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Published on
Last updated on
Government Chief Whip and Minister of State for the Gaeltacht and Sport, Jack Chambers T.D. and Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin T.D. have announced that the Heads of 32 amendments to strengthen the Official Languages (Amendment) Bill have been approved by Government.
Minister of State Jack Chambers said:
"It is a great honour for me as Minister of State with responsibility for the Gaeltacht, to have the opportunity to promote our native language, not only in the Gaeltacht, but throughout the island of Ireland. The increased and improved provision of public services though the Irish language will ensure that issues regarding the provision of State services though Irish to both Irish speakers and Gaeltacht communities will be addressed, along with challenges and opportunities regarding the recruitment of Irish speakers to public bodies. We are further developing and nurturing an environment where our native language is widely recognised and accepted as the first official language of the State. After listening to comments by deputies at a meeting of the Oireachtas Committee for the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish Speaking Community yesterday, I will be providing opposition representatives with the opportunity to sit down with me over the coming weeks to discuss these amendments.”
Announcing the key amendments approved by Cabinet this week, Minister of State Chambers added:
"The publication of the Official Languages Amendment Bill in 2019 was broadly welcomed at the time but a number of criticisms centred on the lack of target dates or a timetable for initiatives provided for in the Bill. Earlier this year, we saw the acceptance of a number of Government amendments at Committee Stage. I welcome these additional 32 amendments which will be brought by me to Dáil Éireann at Report Stage. Key amendments include the following measures:
• A requirement that 20% of new recruits to the public service be competent in the Irish language by 31st December 2030.
• An obligation on the Minister to specify by Regulation - within 3 months of receipt of the National Plan for the Provision of Irish-Medium Public Services already provided for in the Bill - dates by which all public services will be provided in each of the 26 statutory Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas established under the Gaeltacht Act 2012 and by which all public offices in these Language Planning Areas will operate through the medium of Irish. This provision will complement the provisions contained in the Gaeltacht Act 2012 relating to the development of language plans in Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas, the full implementation of which will depend greatly on the provision of public services in the Irish language to these communities.
• A requirement that each public body carry out at least 20% of its annual advertising in the Irish language and 5% in the Irish language media.
• A requirement that the use of the síneadh fada be accommodated in all ICT systems operated by public bodies.
• A requirement for any commercial operator providing public services under contract to a public body to make provision for the use of the Irish language as part of those services.
• The replacement of the Placenames Commission with a statutory Placenames Committee to advise the Minister with regard to the making of Placenames Orders.
"Minister Martin and I are committed to this Bill and to the amendments being proposed in order to strengthen it. Many of the amendments now proposed are based on issues raised by the opposition at Committee Stage and their approval demonstrates a willingness by this Government to listen to the concerns of Irish-speaking and Gaeltacht communities and to act upon them. Building on the Government’s commitment in the recently published Civil Service Renewal 2030 strategy to implement the National Plan for the Provision of Irish-Medium Public Services provided for in the Bill, we both feel strongly that they will strengthen the status of the Irish language within the State sector, ensuring consistently high quality Irish language services within the public service for those in the Irish speaking community and in Gaeltacht areas.”
Minister Martin said:
"I am delighted that these amendments sought by Minister of State Chambers and I have been accepted by Government as they address many of the concerns and issues that have been raised following extensive consultation with stakeholders and some 25 hours of debate at Committee Stage. These amendments are consistent with the State’s wider policy ambition to support and promote the use of the Irish language.
The 32 amendments will improve the overall operation of the Official Languages Act 2003, ensuring that the relevant legislation continues to act as an effective mechanism to reflect the Constitutional position of the Irish language as the first official language of the State and to ensure that public services in Irish are available to meet the needs of Irish speakers. My colleague, Minister of State Chambers, will now present these amendments at Report Stage.”
Updating the Official Languages Act 2003, the Official Languages Amendment Bill allows for the establishment a statutory Irish Language Services Advisory Committee. The Bill sets out the functions of the Advisory Committee, including the publication of a National Plan for the increase in the provision of public services through the medium of Irish. The plan will remain in effect for 6 years.
Another significant element of the Bill is the replacement of the existing language scheme regime by the introduction of language standards for public bodies, with higher standards to be achieved by public bodies with greater interaction with the public. This new regime will provide for the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to publish, following consultation with Government Departments and agencies, a list of standards to be adhered to by those Departments and agencies when delivering services through the medium of Irish.
The Bill also proposes to require public bodies to facilitate the use by a person of their name and address in the Irish language when communicating with public bodies and for all new public bodies to bear Irish language or bilingual names and logos.
The Bill will also give effect to amendments required arising from the abolition of the Placenames Commission, as provided for in the Public Service Reform Plan of 2011. It replaces the Commission with a statutory Placenames Committee which will advise the Minister with regard to the making of Placenames Orders.
Heads of Amendments to be brought to Report Stage
Amendment 1: The inclusion of a definition for ‘Official form’, as requested by the Department of Justice and Equality.
Amendments 2, 3, 4 and 5: These amendments will require the Minister to prepare and issue guidelines within three months of the enactment of this section to assist public bodies in complying with their obligations regarding the use of individuals’ names, addresses and titles in the Irish language.
Amendment 6: This amendment will require the head of a public body to designate a person from amongst his or her senior management team to oversee the implementation of the provisions of the Official Languages Acts in that body. The amendment will also require that person to provide an annual written report to the Head, a summary of which shall be included in the body’s Annual Report, describing the progress that has been made in the implementation of the provisions of the Official Languages Acts within that public body.
Amendment 7: Section 9 (2) of the Act currently provides that where a person communicates in writing or by electronic mail in an official language with a public body, the public body shall reply in the same language. This amendment will extend that obligation to where a person communicates with a public body via social media.
Amendment 8: Section 9 (3) of the Act currently provides that where a public body communicates in writing or by electronic mail with the general public or a class of the general public for the purpose of furnishing information to the public or the class, the body shall ensure that the communication is in the Irish language or in the English and Irish languages. This amendment will extend that obligation to where a public body is issuing marketing material to the public promoting the public body or its services.
Amendment 9: This amendment provides for the insertion of a provision to ensure that public bodies carry out 20 per cent of their advertising in any particular year in the Irish language and each public body shall carry out 5 per cent of its advertising in any particular year in the Irish language media.
Amendment 10: This amendment will ensure, for the avoidance of doubt, that the síneadh fada is accommodated in all public bodies’ official forms to allow for the correct recording and use of a person’s name, address or title in the Irish language. As already provided for in the published Bill, this will be introduced by Regulation on a phased basis following consultation with Ministers.
Amendment 11: This amendment will ensure the right of person not to use a title, should they so wish.
Amendment 12: This amendment will ensure that section 9C relating to the use of the Irish language in official logos commences no later than three years after enactment.
Amendment 13: This amendment will ensure that the names of newly established statutory bodies, other than central government Departments and other bodies similar to those listed in paragraph 1 (1) of the First Schedule to the Act, shall be in the Irish language only.
Amendment 14: This amendment will ensure that where a Public Body purchases a public facing service via a public procurement exercise or otherwise, that the service provider will have certain obligations regarding communications, oral announcements, signage, facilitation of use of Irish language names and addresses, official forms and logos in the Irish language, in respect only of the service the subject of the contract concerned. A definition is also provided for ‘public facing service’ as being a service provided on behalf of a public body by a third party to the general public or class thereof.
Amendment 15: This amendment will insert a target date of no later than 1 January 2024 for the commencement of section 9C (1) ensuring that new logos to be used by public bodies will be either in Irish or Irish and English.
Amendment 16: This amendment will ensure that abbreviations and acronyms included in new or amended logos used by public bodies shall be in the Irish language or in both the Irish language and the English languages.
Amendment 17: This amendment will ensure that facilities will be made available so that members of the newly established Irish Language Services Advisory Committee will be able to use either of the two official languages at meetings of the committee.
Amendment 18: This amendment will ensure that the Chairperson of the Advisory Committee is fluent in the Irish language.
Amendment 19: This amendment will provide for one member of the Advisory Committee, to be nominated by the Minister, to be a representative of the Irish speaking community outside the Gaeltacht. It will also provide for the selection process for this member, and for the member representing the Gaeltacht already provided for in the published Bill, to be administered by the Public Appointments Service.
Amendment 20: This amendment will ensure that individuals are not excluded from membership of the advisory committee on the basis that they have been adjudicated bankrupt.
Amendment 21: This amendment will provide for the Advisory Committee to collect information and statistics on the level of Irish competency in the public service every five years.
Amendment 22: This amendment specifies that responsibility for the coordination of the National Plan’s implementation for the provision of Irish-medium public services, already provided for in the published Bill, will rest with the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. It should be noted that a Government commitment to implement this plan has been already included in Civil Service Renewal 2030.
Amendment 23: This amendment will require the Advisory Committee to provide an annual progress report to the Minister with regard to its work during the previous year, within three months of the end of each calendar year.
Amendment 24: This amendment will allow for the application of prescribed language standards to third parties who provide public-facing services to public bodies under contract. These standards will be the same as those applying to the relevant public body.
Amendment 25: This amendment will set a target of 20 per cent of new recruits to public bodies being competent in the Irish language by 31st December 2030.
Amendment 26: This amendment will ensure that the Minister prescribes dates by which the Irish language shall become the working language in offices of public bodies in each Gaeltacht Language Planning Area, and also by which all services delivered by a public body in each Gaeltacht Language Planning Area shall be delivered in Irish. These dates will be prescribed within 3 months of the Minister receiving the National Plan and following the completion of comprehensive research commissioned by the Advisory Committee with regard to the achievability of the intended target dates.
Amendment 27: This amendment sets out a provision for the establishment of the Placenames Committee as a statutory committee, provides for its secretariat to be provided by the Minister (as it is heretofore) and makes provision for its membership to include experts in the areas of Irish placenames, Irish history and the Irish language. It also gives the Committee a function to advise the Minister in relation to placenames. This amendment will also, for the avoidance of doubt, abolish the Placenames Commission, as provided for in the Public Service Reform Plan of 2011.
Amendment 28: This amendment obliges the Minister to obtain the advice of the Placenames Committee prior to making a Placenames Order under the Act.
Amendment 29: This amendment will ensure that the list of public bodies covered under the schedule to the Act is updated by Regulation made by the Minister at least once every two years.
Amendment 30: This amendment will require sections of the Bill not yet commenced to come into operation not later than 3 years after the passing of the Bill.
Amendments 31 and 32: These amendments will rectify a conflict identified between changing placenames in local government legislation and placenames provisions in the Official Languages Act 2003.