merrion street

Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Dinny McGinley, T.D. announced today (20 February 2013) that his Department has signed a Service Level Agreement with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for the provision of Irish language training and proficiency testing for the civil service and certain public service organisations.

Under the agreement, the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht will be responsible for ensuring the provision of Irish language training programmes and proficiency testing are sufficient to meet organisational requirements.

Minister of State McGinley said "The purpose of this agreement is to support staff in developing their proficiency in the Irish language and to enhance the capacity of the civil service and other bodies to provide services to the public through Irish. This agreement is particularly important in the context of the Official Languages Act 2003 and the 20‑Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030."