Acht na dTeangacha Oifigiúla 2003
The Official Languages Act, 2003
(From left) Dr. Declan Glynn, former Director of Research & Enterprise, DIT; Clare Spáinneach, Oifig na Gaeilge DIT; An Coimisinéir Teanga Seán Ó Cuirreáin; Siobhán Nic Gaoithín, Oifigeach na Gaeilge DIT; Professor Matt Hussey, former Director of the Faculty of Science, DIT.
Foreword
The Official Languages Act 2003 was signed into law on 14 July 2003. The Act is the first piece of legislation to provide a statutory framework for the delivery of public services through the Irish Language.
Further information on the Official Languages Act is available at www.coimisineir.ie.
Objective of the Act
The primary objective of the Official Languages Act 2003 is to ensure better availability and a higher standard of public services through Irish.
This will be principally achieved by placing a statutory obligation on Departments of State and public bodies to make specific provision for delivery of such services in a coherent and agreed fashion through a statutory planning framework, known as a "scheme", to be agreed on a three year renewable basis between the head of the body concerned and the Minister. The Act provides for the preparation of guidelines by the Minister for public bodies in relation to the preparation of draft schemes. Schemes remain in force for 3 years and thereafter fall to be renewed. The intention is that this renewal process will be used to secure a significant improvement, over time, in the level of public services available through Irish over time, as demand requires.
The Act also specifies some basic general provisions of universal applicability, e.g. correspondence to be replied to in the language in which it was written, providing information to the public in the Irish language, or in the Irish and English languages, bilingual publications of certain key documents, use of Irish in the courts, etc.
Official Languages Act Guidebook
