Organisation information
Irish Language Policy
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Social Protection
Published on
Last updated on
The Irish Language Scheme has been prepared by the Department of Social Protection ('the Department') as required under the Official Languages Act 2003 Official Languages Act 2003 ('the Act').
The Act provides for the preparation by public bodies of a statutory scheme detailing the services they will provide:
and the measures to be adopted to ensure that any service not provided through the medium of the Irish language will be so provided within an agreed timeframe. Responsibility for confirming Schemes lies with the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht ('the Minister').
In accordance with section 14(3) of the Act, language schemes remain in force for a period of 3 years or until such time as a new scheme is confirmed by the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, whichever is the later.
The then Department of Social Protection agreed a scheme with the Minister for Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht which came into effect on 16 March 2015. This scheme succeeds that earlier scheme.
In recent years, the organisation and structure of the department has changed in a very fundamental way. The Intreo service was developed, amalgamating social welfare services with the Community Welfare Service and public employment services. The department developed and implemented new schemes such as Paternity Benefit, the Jobseekers Transition Scheme for lone parents, and the JobsPlus recruitment incentive to support people who are long-term unemployed.
The SAFE registration process was rolled out to over 3 million citizens and the department implemented new online services such as MyWelfare.ie and MyGovID.ie and led on the development of legislation on gender recognition. More recently, responsibility for labour affairs and labour law including the Low Pay Commission was transferred to the department with effect from September 2017. This expansion of the department’s role reflects the close relationship between welfare, employment services and the labour market.
In the development of this Scheme, the approach taken was to develop a language scheme that would reflect the (then) newly constituted Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection which responds to the full range of needs across the entire organisation. The department has liaised with the (then) Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in the development of this scheme.
The Act provides that the Minister may require public bodies to prepare a draft Scheme for confirmation by the Minister. The Act also provides for the preparation by the Minister of guidelines to assist in the preparation of draft schemes. This Scheme has been drawn up in accordance with the guidelines, guided by the principle that the provision of services in the Irish language should be based on:
In February 2018, the department published a notice inviting submissions from any interested parties in relation to the preparation of the new Scheme. A notice inviting submissions was placed on the department’s website and a similar invitation was conveyed to all staff of the department. The new Scheme has been informed by the submissions received.
The Scheme has been developed within the policy context of the government’s ‘20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030’.
This scheme complements the principles of Quality Customer Service and our Customer Charter. It has been formulated with the intention of ensuring that all relevant obligations under the Official Languages Act by the department will be fully addressed on an incremental basis, through this and future schemes.