Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021
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Amendment of Principal Act - insertion of sections 9A to 9E | ||
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5. The Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following sections after section 9: | ||
“Duty of public bodies regarding names, addresses and titles in Irish language | ||
9A. (1) For the purpose of ensuring the correct recording and use by a public body of a person’s name (including the patronymic or matronymic form of the name), address or title (including the option to use no title) in the Irish language, the Minister may, after consultation with such (if any) Minister of the Government as the Minister considers appropriate having regard to the functions of the public body, prescribe the body for the purposes of this section. | ||
(2) The Minister may, in prescribing a public body under subsection (1), specify the services offered or provided by the body in respect of which it is so prescribed. | ||
(3) A public body that is prescribed under subsection (1) shall ensure that the information and communications systems, and any other systems (whether electronic or otherwise), that are used by the body in its communications with the general public, or a class of the general public, as may be appropriate, are configured in a manner that— | ||
(a) permits a person’s name (including the patronymic or matronymic form of the name), address or title (including the option to use no title), in the Irish language, to be correctly recorded and used by such systems in relation to the services offered or provided by the body in respect of which it is so prescribed, and | ||
(b) facilitates the use of the length accent in Irish language text. | ||
(4) (a) The Minister shall, not later than 3 months after the commencement of section 4 of the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021 and following consultation with such (if any) other Minister of the Government as the Minister considers appropriate, prepare and issue guidelines to assist public bodies in complying with their obligations under this section and under sections 9B, 9C and 9D. | ||
(b) A public body shall have regard to the guidelines, if any, issued under paragraph (a) in complying with its obligations under this section and under sections 9B, 9C and 9D. | ||
(c) The Minister shall, as soon as practicable, publish on the website of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht guidelines issued under paragraph (a). | ||
(d) The Minister shall, at such intervals as he or she considers appropriate, revise guidelines issued under paragraph (a) and the provisions of this subsection shall apply to the preparation, issuing and publication of such revised guidelines as they apply to the guidelines first issued. | ||
Duty of public bodies regarding official forms | ||
9B. (1) For the purpose of prescribing the content and layout of official forms of a public body the Minister may, after consultation with such (if any) Minister of the Government as the Minister considers appropriate having regard to the functions of the public body, prescribe the body for the purposes of this section. | ||
(2) The Minister may, in prescribing a public body under subsection (1), prescribe the contents and layout of official forms of the public body to be in the Irish language or in both the Irish and English languages and different provisions may be made in relation to different public bodies or official forms. | ||
(3) In prescribing the content and layout of forms under subsection (2) the Minister shall have regard to the following matters where text, in the official form concerned, is in both the Irish and English languages: | ||
(a) the order in which the text in each language shall appear in the official form; | ||
(b) the prominence, visibility, legibility, size, font, overall appearance and style of the text, in the official form, of one language with respect to the text of the other language; | ||
(c) the need for each official language to communicate the same message; | ||
(d) the manner in which a title is to be used prior to or after a person’s name in the official form, particularly with reference to acknowledging the different forms of such titles in each language; | ||
(e) the manner in which abbreviated words may be used in each language. | ||
(4) In prescribing the content and layout of forms under subsection (2) the Minister shall have regard to the following matters where text, in the official form concerned, is in the Irish language only: | ||
(a) the manner in which a title is to be used prior to or after a person’s name in the official form, particularly with reference to acknowledging the different forms of such titles in each language; | ||
(b) the manner in which abbreviated words may be used in each language. | ||
Duty of public bodies regarding logos | ||
9C. (1) A public body shall, on and from the commencement of section 4 of the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021, where it is renewing or altering its logo, ensure that text that forms part of the new or altered logo shall be in the Irish language or in both the Irish and English languages. | ||
(2) Where text referred to in subsection (1) is in both the Irish and English languages— | ||
(a) the part of the text that is in the Irish language shall appear before the part of the text that is in the English language, | ||
(b) the part of the text that is in the Irish language shall not be in a smaller font, or less prominent, visible or legible than the part of the text that is in the English language, and | ||
(c) where part of the text that is in the Irish language is abbreviated, the part of the text that is in the English language which is the translation of that abbreviated text shall also be abbreviated. | ||
(3) In this section and in section 9D ‘logo’ means the logo usually used by a body on headings of stationery, livery or signage of the body and generally accompanied by the name of the body, and includes the logo of any scheme, programme, policy initiative or website administered by the body or for which the body is responsible. | ||
(4) In subsection (1), ‘text’ shall include any abbreviation or acronym of the name, in the Irish language, of the body concerned. | ||
Names and logos of newly established statutory bodies | ||
9D. (1) The name of a statutory body established, on and from the commencement of section 4 of the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021, shall be in the Irish language. | ||
(2) Text that forms part of a logo of a statutory body established, on and from the commencement of section 4 of the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021, shall be in the Irish language or in both the Irish and English languages. | ||
(3) Where text referred to in subsection (2) is in both the Irish and English languages— | ||
(a) the part of the text that is in the Irish language shall appear before the part of the text that is in the English language, | ||
(b) the part of the text that is in the Irish language shall not be in a smaller font, or less prominent, visible or legible than the part of the text that is in the English language, and | ||
(c) where part of the text that is in the Irish language is abbreviated, the part of the text that is in the English language which is the translation of that abbreviated text shall also be abbreviated. | ||
Public facing services | ||
9E. (1) A public body shall take all appropriate steps to ensure that, where a person provides a public facing service on behalf of the public body, that person shall, in respect of the provision of that service, comply with— | ||
(a) regulations under section 9(1) applying to the public body concerned, | ||
(b) subsections (2) and (3) of section 9, and | ||
(c) such of the relevant language standards prescribed by the Minister under section 19A(2) to apply to the public body concerned. | ||
(2) In this section, ‘public facing service’ means a service offered or provided, whether or not for remuneration, on behalf of a public body by a person other than a public body, to the general public or a class of the general public.”. |