Increase in advertising through Irish, establishment of the Irish Language Services Advisory Committee, agreement of a research contract for the National Plan - see what else[...]

The amount of Irish language advertising in the media has seen a notable increase over the past number of months. This is due to the commencement of a key provision of the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021. With the Act now a year in existence, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin T.D., and the Minister of State for the Gaeltacht, Patrick O'Donovan T.D., would like to take a look back on what has been achieved under the Act in the last year.

The President of Ireland signed the Act into law on 22 December 2021, and since then the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media has been working diligently to implement all the provisions of the Act on a phased basis.

It was announced recently that the Department has agreed a research contract with the University of Galway to undertake research that will form the basis of the preparation of the National Plan for Irish Language Services. A value of €325,500 has been put on this contract and its agreement is key to the overall efforts involved in ensuring that the ambitious objectives of the Act are achieved - including the one relating to 20% of recruits to the public sector being competent in Irish by 2030. In support of this work, a Government commitment to implement the Plan has been given in Civil Service Renewal 2030.

Among the other highlights under the Act this year, were:

• The Establishment of the Irish Language Services Advisory Committee on 20 June 2022. This establishment was in line with the deadline set for it in the Act, which was that it would be done within 6 months of the enactment of the Act. The overall responsibility for the preparation of the National Plan for Irish Language Services falls on the Committee with it having to be finalised before 19 June 2024. To that end, a wide range of stakeholders are covered through the organisations and members chosen to be on the Committee, including the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Public Appointments Service. Through the Plan and its work in general, the Committee will play a key role in leading a co-ordinated approach to ensuring that a sufficient number of Irish speaking personnel are recruited to provide services.

• The Implementation of the Advertising Provision on 10 October 2022. Under this provision (Section 10A of the Act as amended), all public bodies are now obliged to do at least 20% of their annual advertising in Irish and to spend 5% of their advertising budgets on advertising in Irish in the Irish language media. It is an extremely positive provision that has already increased the visibility of the language across all media-platforms used by public bodies. This provision gives a clear and substantial message to the Irish-speaking community that not only does the State respect the language as a central part of our cultural heritage, but that it is also of great economic benefit to its speakers. The Department is of the strong opinion that the State's efforts to promote the use of the language will be strengthened as a result, in-keeping with the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030.

• An Agreement on the Commencement of the amendment to the Juries Act 1976 with the Courts Service. Once this provision (Section 16 of the (Amendment) Act 2021, amending Section 12 of the Juries Act) is commenced, summons notices issued to people to serve as a juror will be done so bilingually. The Courts Service has been given time to develop a new jury portal that can accommodate Irish language functionality as well as translate the jury package, with the expectation that the commencement order for this provision will be signed on or before the end of April 2023.

• Developments made to Irish language training courses with a pilot course run with Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (TEG) certifying the Gaelchultúr courses offered to Civil Servants on behalf of OneLearning, the Learning and Development Unit of the Civil Service. This measure came about as a result of ongoing collaboration between the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on the implementation of the Act. With the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages on which the TEG system is based, specifically mentioned in the Act, TEG qualifications will hold a particular value in the coming years for both learners and employers alike, as people with particular language skills will be sought for a wide range of diverse roles across the civil and public service in the context of the ambitious recruitment target set out in the Act. Both Departments are also looking at a number of other ways to further support Irish language learners within the system as well as to create more awareness around the language in general. One such additional measure to be taken is the addition of language awareness elements to other OneLearning's courses, focusing initially on customer service and junior manager courses - areas where language behaviour in the workplace could be greatly influenced. It is hoped that this will be done early this year together with the establishment of an Irish Language Network to support those who wish to use and/or practice the Irish language outside the classroom.

• Every opportunity has been taken to create awareness around the Act - particularly in light of the fact that this is a whole-of-Government initiative and that the state system in general is responsible for its implementation. In support of this, the Department, in conjunction with Oifig an Choimisinéara Teanga, organised a series of online information seminars at the end of July in order to advise State bodies on their new obligations under the Act. Over 1,000 state employees attended these. In addition, the Department took part in other information seminars organised by Oifig an Choimisinéara Teanga regarding the advertising provision in mid-September. The Department intends to hold further information seminars for public bodies before the end of January on the topic of Irish language translation and invites to these went out before Christmas.

As part of the efforts to ease communications, public bodies were also asked to set up a designated email address for matters pertaining to the Act and many organisations have now done so.

Additionally, it is planned to run a large awareness campaign early this year focusing on the employment opportunities that exist for those with Irish in the civil and public service. It is intended that a regular awareness campaign, once a year or so, will be held to create awareness of specific aspects of the Act as and when they are commenced and developed.

The Department has also received additional staffing resources together with €1m of current funding in the 2023 Budget in order to consolidate and bolster efforts in this area. With this funding, a number of potential innovative initiatives are currently being examined, for example:

• Establishing an Apprenticeship Scheme, in collaboration with the Department of Further Education and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science;

• Establishing an Internship Scheme, looking to address specific requirements to come into play under the Act, for example in the area of communications;

• Reviewing and expanding the functions of the Department's Advanced Irish Language Skills Initiative so as to focus more on training and recruitment in Ireland.

In 2023, work will also of course continue on commencing all sections and provisions of the Act on an incremental basis - including the language standards provision. To that end, it is intended to commence all Sections, other than Section 17 (as this Section cannot be commenced until all of the language standards have been agreed), this year on the following dates:

• 15/03/2023- The following Sections: 2a, 2b, 7, 9, 10, 11, 15, 18 and 19

• 30/04/2023- The following Sections: 3 and 16

• 31/05/2023- The following Sections: 12, 13 and 14

• 31/10/2023- The following Sections: 4 and 5

Assuming the full implementation of this commencement schedule, all material sections of the Act will have been commenced by the end of 2023 - a full year ahead of the three year timescale laid down in the Act.

Through all of this work to be done with regard to the implementation of the Act, the improved provision of services to the Irish-speaking community as well as the creation of significant employment opportunities for those with proficiency in the language will be ensured.

Notes for the Editor:

With regard to the dates provided for commencement of further provisions of the Act in 2023, a degree of flexibility is required in this as some sections provide for guidelines and advice to be given as well as feedback from public bodies. This timeframe is also based on current staffing resources available to the Department. While unforeseen circumstances may impact on this indicative timeframe, every effort will be made to adhere to the dates given.

Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021:

https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2021/act/49/enacted/en/html

Press Releases regarding progress under the Act here .