An Coimisinéir Teanga Tá ár dTuarascálacha Bliantúla go dtí seo le fáil ar www.coimisineir.ie To view previous Annual Reports visit www.coimisineir.ie • Tuarasc áil Bhliantúil 2007 • Annual Report 2007 An Coimisinéir Teanga An Spidéal Co. na Gaillimhe Éire Teileafón / Telephone: 091-504006 Glao Áitiúil / Lo-Call Number: 1890-504006 Facsuimhir / Fax Number: 091-504036 Ríomhphost / Email: [email protected] Tuarascáil Bhliantúil www.coimisineir.ie 2007 Annual Report TUARASCÁIL BHLIANTÚIL 2007 ANNUAL REPORT Don Aire Gnóthaí Pobail, Tuaithe To the Minister for Community, Rural agus Gaeltachta and Gaeltacht Affairs De réir Alt 30 d’Acht na dTeangacha Oifigiúla 2003 In accordance with Section 30 of the Official tá an tuarascáil seo don bhliain 2007 á cur i Iáthair Languages Act 2003, this report for the year 2007 ag an gCoimisinéir Teanga. is being presented by An Coimisinéir Teanga. Seán Ó Cuirreáin An Coimisinéir Teanga Márta/March 2008 1 2 CLÁR CONTENTS Ráiteas Misin lch 4 Mission Statement page 4 Réamhrá lch 5 Foreword page 5 Cúlra lch 9 Background page 9 Seirbhísí Eolais lch 11 Information Services page 11 An Ghaeilge i dTithe an Oireachtais lch 16 Irish in the Houses of the Oireachtas page 16 Cora Poist lch 19 Mailshots page 19 Scéimeanna Teanga faoin Acht lch 21 Language Schemes under the Act page 21 Gearáin: Fadhbanna agus Deacrachtaí Complaints: Problems and Difficulties – Staitisticí lch 29 – Statistics page 29 Imscrúduithe lch 32 Investigations page 32 Achoimrí ar Imscrúduithe 2007 lch 35 Summaries of Investigations 2007 page 35 ➤ An Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta lch 36 ➤ Department of Education and Science page 36 ➤ An Garda Síochána lch 49 ➤ An Garda Síochána page 49 ➤ An Roinn Gnóthaí Sóisialacha agus Teaghlaigh lch 57 ➤ Department of Social and Family Affairs page 57 ➤ Feidhmeannacht na Seirbhíse Sláinte lch 64 ➤ Health Service Executive page 64 ➤ Coimisiún na Scrúduithe Stáit lch 68 ➤ State Examinations Commission page 68 ➤ An tÚdarás Náisiúnta Míchumais lch 80 ➤ National Disability Authority page 80 ➤ Bus Éireann lch 91 ➤ Bus Éireann page 91 ➤ Comhairle Contae Fhine Gall lch 97 ➤ Fingal County Council page 97 ➤ Coimisiún Thithe an Oireachtais lch 101 ➤ Houses of the Oireachtas Commission page 101 ➤ An Roinn Dlí agus Cirt, Comhionannais ➤ Department of Justice, Equality and agus Athchóirithe Dlí lch 10 8 Law Reform page 10 8 Cúrsaí Airgeadais lch 112 Financial Matters page 112 Foireann agus Sonraí Teagmhála lch 113 Staff and Contact Details page 113 3 RÁITEAS MISIN MISSION STATEMENT Ag cosaint Protecting cearta teanga Language Rights Seirbhís neamhspleách To provide an independent quality d'ardchaighdeán a chur ar fáil i service whilst fulfilling our gcomhlíonadh ár ndualgas statutory obligations to ensure reachtúil le cinntiú go ndéanann State compliance in relation to an státchóras beart de réir a language rights. bhriathair maidir le cearta teanga. To ensure fairness for all by Cothrom na féinne a chinntiú do dealing, in an efficient, chách trí ghearáin maidir le professional and impartial deacrachtaí teacht ar sheirbhísí manner, with complaints poiblí trí Ghaeilge a láimhseáil ar regarding difficulties in accessing bhealach atá éifeachtach, public services through the gairmiúil agus neamhchlaonta. medium of Irish. Eolas soiléir, cruinn a chur ar fáil: To provide clear and accurate ● don phobal maidir le cearta information: teanga, agus ● to the public in relation to ● do chomhlachtaí poiblí maidir le language rights, and dualgais teanga. ● to public bodies in relation to language obligations. 4 RÉAMHRÁ FOREWORD Don dara bliain as a chéile cuireadh níos mó ná For the second successive year over 600 600 gearán nua i láthair m’Oifige le linn 2007 ó complaints were made to my Office by members bhaill den phobal a chreid go raibh cúis gearáin of the public who felt they had cause to complain acu de bharr deacrachta nó faidhbe le seirbhís trí because of difficulties or problems associated Ghaeilge ón státchóras. with accessing state services through Irish. Fágann sin go bhfuil déileáilte ag an Oifig le My Office has consequently dealt with nearly 2,000 beagnach 2,000 gearán ón bpobal ar fad ó complaints since its establishment in 2004. bunaíodh í sa bhliain 2004. Some of the complaints during 2007 were of a Ba ghearáin chasta a bhí deacair a réiteach cuid complex nature and difficult to resolve, and led in acu sin a rinneadh le linn 2007 agus bhí sé mar some cases to a requirement to undertake official thoradh air sin go raibh ar an Oifig tabhairt faoi investigations. imscrúduithe oifigiúla i gcás cuid de na gearáin sin. An investigation is an official enquiry carried out on Is é atá i gceist le himscrúdú ná fiosrúchán oifigiúil a formal statutory basis in accordance with the atá seolta ar bhonn foirmiúil, reachtúil de réir na provisions of the Official Languages Act. bhforálacha in Acht na dTeangacha Oifigiúla. An investigation is not normally carried out unless Is iondúil nach rachfaí chun cinn le himscrúdú attempts at resolving the issue in hand through the mura mbeadh iarracht gan toradh déanta an Office’s informal complaints resolution mechanism gearán a réiteach ar dtús trí chóras have failed or it appears that the issue cannot be neamhfhoirmiúil réitithe gearán na hOifige nó mura resolved satisfactorily without an investigation. mbeadh sé soiléir gur dócha nach réiteofaí an cás The investigation process is a complex procedure, go sásúil d’éagmais imscrúdaithe. the completion of which may require a substantial Próiseas casta é an córas imscrúdaithe a thógann amount of time and resources from both the public cuid mhaith ama agus acmhainní ar an gcomhlacht body concerned and my Office, and is not normally poiblí a bheadh i gceist agus ar m’Oifig agus ní undertaken without substantive cause. hiondúil go rachfaí ina bhun gan cúis mhaith. Of the 12 investigations launched during 2007, two As an 12 imscrúdú oifigiúil a seoladh le linn 2007, were still ongoing at year end. Summaries of the 10 bhí péire de na himscrúduithe sin nach raibh other investigations are contained in this report. In bailchríoch curtha leo ag deireadh na bliana sin. Tá one specific case I had to decide to discontinue achoimre ar na 10 gcinn d’imscrúduithe eile de the investigation – without making findings or chuid 2007 le fáil sa tuarascáil seo. I gcás ceann recommendations – for reasons that are detailed amháin acu, bhí orm cinneadh a dhéanamh an t- in the appropriate summary in this report. imscrúdú a scor – gan fionnachtana ná moltaí a The investigations, complaints and other actions of dhéanamh – ar chúiseanna atá mínithe san my Office during the year suggest that it is not achoimre chuí sa tuarascáil seo. necessarily sufficient in itself to have provisions in Léirigh na himscrúduithe, na gearáin agus legislation to ensure that obligations confirmed in gníomhaíochtaí eile de chuid na hOifige le linn na those provisions are adhered to. It appears that bliana nach leor ann féin forálacha a bheith i this may be particularly true in the case of statutory reachtaíocht le go mbeifí iomlán cinnte go gcloífí le language provisions. dualgais atá daingnithe sna forálacha sin. Is cosúil go bhféadfadh fírinne ar leith a bheith ag baint leis sin i dtaca le forálacha reachtúla teanga. 5 RÉAMHRÁ FOREWORD Cinntí Decisions De thoradh imscrúdaithe, tháinig mé ar an As a result of an investigation I found that the gcinneadh go raibh sárú á dhéanamh ag an Roinn Department of Education and Science had failed Oideachais agus Eolaíochta ar an Acht to comply with a requirement of the Education Act Oideachais 1998 nuair nach raibh siollabais 1998 when current, up-to-date, syllabuses in Irish reatha trí Ghaeilge, cothrom le dáta, ar fáil mar were not available in print or electronically for all chóip chrua agus leictreonach do gach ábhar iar- post-primary school subjects. A further breach of bhunscoile. Sárú eile ar an Acht céanna a bhí ann the same legislation was the provision of English- nach raibh treoirleabhair na rialacha agus cláir do only versions of the rules and programmes for mheánscoileanna ar fáil ach i mBéarla amháin, secondary schools, which are the official treoirleabhair atá riachtanach do dhea-riaradh guidelines for the sound administration and agus bainistiú scoileanna, scoileanna Gaeltachta management of schools, including Gaeltacht and agus scoileanna lán-Ghaeilge, san áireamh. all-Irish schools. Shocraigh an Garda Síochána, de thoradh As a result of an investigation An Garda Síochána imscrúdaithe, go bhforbrófaí mar chóras decided to develop its system for dealing with Fixed dátheangach an córas eisithe d’Fhógraí Muirear Charge Notices (penalty points) as a bilingual Socraithe (pointí pionóis) agus, idir an dá linn, nach system, and in the meantime, to end the practice leanfaí de nós a bhí tosaithe a leithéid de sheirbhís which had recently commenced of refusing to trí Ghaeilge a dhiúltú do dhaoine a lorg í. provide this service in Irish to those who sought it. Léirigh imscrúdú eile gur sárú ar fhoráil de chuid Another investigation found that the Department of Acht na dTeangacha Oifigiúla a bhí ann gur fhoilsigh Social and Family Affairs failed to comply with a an Roinn Gnóthaí Sóisialacha agus Teaghlaigh an provision of the Official Languages Act, which páipéar uaine ar phinsin i mBéarla amháin ag tráth requires simultaneous publication in both nach raibh fáil fós ar an leagan Gaeilge den languages of public policy proposals, by publishing doiciméad sin, ar thogra beartais phoiblí é. the green paper on pensions in English when the Irish language version was as yet unavailable. Ghlac Feidhmeannacht na Seirbhíse Sláinte leithscéal faoina faillí nuair a cruthaíodh in The Health Service Executive, as a result of an imscrúdú gur sháraigh an eagraíocht a dualgas investigation, apologised for providing public health reachtúil i gcás inar cuireadh seirbhís dental services in English only for a Gaeltacht fiaclóireachta, ar sheirbhís pobail í, ar fáil i mBéarla school in breach of an agreed statutory obligation.