Better Public Services article: Moving Towards a Bilingual Public Service
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From: Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform
- Published on: 20 January 2025
- Last updated on: 15 April 2025
As part of Public Service Transformation Week 2024, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, in conjunction with relevant partners, hosted a webinar on the theme of Moving Towards a Bilingual Public Service. This webinar focused on the following:
- The National Plan for Irish Language Public Services;
- Progress under the Official Languages Acts 2003 and 2021;
- Digital Plan for the Irish Language and Technological Advancements; and
- Learnings from Wales.
A recording of the webinar, along with other resources, can be viewed on the Department’s website.
This webinar was organised following the approval by Government and subsequent publication of the National Plan for Irish Language Public Services – the first national governmental strategy in the history of the State for the provision of Irish language public services. Extensive research was carried out to inform the preparation of this Plan - the invaluable findings of which are detailed throughout.
The National Plan seeks to provide a roadmap for public bodies as to how the overall objectives of the Official Languages Acts might be achieved; increasing and improving the level of public services provided through Irish, particularly in Gaeltacht areas, and ensuring that public bodies have a sufficient level of staff competent to do so, as we move towards a truly bilingual public service.
The National Plan focuses on five major strategic themes in the areas of:
1. Broad Initiatives and Structural Strengthening;
2. The Provision of Public Services through Irish;
3. Technology;
4. Training, Recruitment and Language Competence; and
5. Data Collection,
- with each theme reinforcing each other and in-keeping with other governmental reform strategies such as Better Public Services and the Civil Service Renewal Strategy. The some 25 high-level actions proposed in the plan seek to transform the manner in which Irish-language public services are provided to the public.
Three months following the approval by government of the National Plan, dates are to be set by which public offices in the Gaeltacht will operate through Irish and by which all public services in the Gaeltacht and to the Gaeltacht will be provided through Irish – measures which have long been sought by Gaeltacht communities and Irish speakers generally.
Some of the potential initiatives outlined in the plan such as the establishment of hubs to provide core public services through Irish, or the establishment of a shared translation service, would be game-changing in terms of removing barriers in the provision of truly bilingual public services. Equally, ensuring that the Irish-language is to the fore in terms of technological advancements - particularly in the area of AI - will pave the way for the provision of bilingual public services as we seek to achieve targets set out by Government, particularly that 90% of applicable services are to be consumed online by 2030 and that 80% of eligible citizens will use MyGovID by 2030 (Harnessing Digital - The Digital Ireland Framework).
Other proposals also seek to ensure that our public service will be skilled for the future, in accordance with Better Public Services, by proposing measures aimed towards the recruitment of Irish language competent individuals, as well as upskilling existing public servants to provide such services. In this context, the development of the Apprenticeship for Speisialtóir Gaeilge (Irish Language Specialist) is considered to be particularly important, with a specific commitment included on it in the Public Service Apprenticeship Plan 2023.
The National Plan will be supported by two 3-year Action Plans, which will outline the specific actions to achieve the high-level strategic objectives of these themes. The first action plan will cover the period 2025-2027 and is to be approved and published early in the New Year.
For further information on this transformational work, please keep an eye on the Department’s website. Relevant queries are also always welcome to ATO@tcagsm.gov.ie