Additional Irish Language Obligations for Public Bodies

New statutory obligations under the Official Languages Act 2003 have recently come into effect. Public bodies must ensure that they comply with these new obligations. Our Public, Regulatory and Investigations team reviews the new obligations and the implications for public bodies.

What you need to know

• New provisions of the Official Languages Act 2003 came into effect from 21 December 2024
• They place additional legal obligations on public bodies relating to social media communications, the use of Irish language names, and the use of the Irish language in official forms and logos
• The Irish Language Schemes are repealed and will be replaced by Language Standards
• Developments in the use of the Irish language by public bodies will continue throughout 2025 with guidelines and a public consultation

The Government recently placed further Irish language obligations on public bodies, effective from 21 December 2024.

These new provisions cover a public body’s obligations on matters such as:

• Social media communications
• The use of a person’s Irish name including use of the “síneadh fada”, and
• The use of Irish in official forms

Crucially, the amendments will also place obligations on entities providing public facing services on behalf of that public body.

Following the introduction of these new obligations public bodies will need to review their processes and procedures to ensure compliance with these new obligations and to avoid attention from An Coimisinéir Teanga.

We consider these new provisions and their implications for public bodies.

Social media communications

Until now, where members of the public communicated with public bodies in writing or by email, public bodies were required to reply in the same language used. For example, where emails are received by a public body in the Irish language, it must reply in the Irish language.

This requirement is now extended to social media communications. As a result, communications in the Irish language to public bodies via social media channels must be responded to in the Irish language.

Additional obligations on public bodies

Five new subsections of the Official Languages Act 2003, Sections 9A-9E, have been commenced, which create various additional obligations for public bodies.

Sections 9A and 9B deal with a public body’s use of a person’s Irish name and address, including use of the “síneadh fada”, as well as the use of the Irish language in a public body’s official forms. These provisions will require the Minister, noting that the specific Minister of the new Government has yet to be confirmed, to take further action. For example, by specifying the public bodies to whom these obligations will apply and by specifying the content of the official forms.

Sections 9C and 9D are relevant if a public body is renewing or changing its logo or a new public body is creating its logo. Under Section 9C, if a public body is renewing or altering its logo, it must ensure that any text in that logo is in the Irish language, or in both the Irish and English languages and equally prominent. Section 9D applies these requirements to any newly established statutory body.

Obligations on entities providing public facing services on behalf of public bodies

Finally, Section 9E requires public bodies to ensure that, where a third party provides a public facing service on its behalf, the third party complies with obligations under the Official Languages Acts and under any relevant language standards.

Repeal of Irish Language Schemes

The sections of the 2003 Act which provided for the Irish Language Schemes are now repealed. The Official Languages Acts 2003 – 2021 aims to replace these schemes with Language Standards. These standards will set out the services to be provided through the Irish language and the levels of competence in the Irish language required of staff. The Language Standards are not yet in place.

The Minister must hold a consultation, contact each public body, and give them prior notice of Language Standards. This means that public bodies will have advance notice of the introduction of Language Standards, giving them much needed time to consider the requirements. The Government published a press release in December 2024 indicating that this consultation process will begin in early 2025.[1]

Conclusion

In light of the commencement of the remaining provisions of the Official Languages Acts 2003 – 2021, public bodies should now consider how the new statutory provisions affect them.

Public bodies should:

• Review internal processes and procedures to ensure compliance with the legislation
• Consider whether IT systems will be able to process names and addresses in the Irish language
• Consider whether public facing services outsourced to third parties comply with obligations
• Consider their logo
• Ensure that communications including social media communications in the Irish language are replied to in Irish, and
• Stay informed about the upcoming consultation on Language Standards..

The Government has committed to providing detailed guidelines on these new obligations by the end of March 2025, which should further assist public bodies.

For more information, contact a member of our Public, Regulatory and Investigations team.

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The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other advice.

[1] https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/04913-feidhm-tugtha-dfhoralacha-deireanacha-acht-na-dteangacha-oifigiula-leasu-2021/