Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Gabh mo leithscéal ach níl mo chuid Gaeilge go maith. Mar sin, cuirfidh mé mo cheisteanna trí Bhéarla. This committee is concerned with the role of the Coimisinéir Teanga and the commissioner presents his annual report to the committee. The commissioner expressed strong concern in his report regarding the proposed amalgamation of his office under the Office of the Ombudsman. He mentioned legislation would be published to enable this and to redefine the role of the Coimisinéir Teanga. Can the Minister of State provide clarity on this and when will the legislation be published?

Does the Minister of State agree that the majority of issues identified by the commissioner in his report, in terms of the public interacting through Irish with public services, arose because of an inability by officials within the public service to deal with issues through Irish or bilingually. There are issues in this regard. The public service has been reduced from 300,000 to 270,000 and this may be part of the reason there has been a 3% increase in complaints. In his report, the commissioner mentioned the transfer of training from Gaeleagras to the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and identified significant potential for improvement. Will the Minister of State outline what plans there are for reform or what improvements can be see as a result of that transfer of powers?