Official Languages Act 2003

Interpretation.

2

2. —(1) In this Act, save where the context otherwise requires—

F1["Act of 2012" means the Gaeltacht Act 2012;]

F1["Advisory Committee" has the meaning assigned to it by section 18A;]

“Commissioner” means, as the context may require, Oifig Choimisinéir na dTeangacha Oifigiúla established by section 20 or the holder, for the time being, of that office;

“court” includes a tribunal established under the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Acts 1921 to 2002;

“draft scheme” means a draft scheme to be prepared by a public body under this Act;

“enactment” means a statute or an instrument made under a power conferred by a statute;

F1["establishment day" shall be construed in accordance with section 18A;]

“functions” includes powers and duties and references to the performance of functions include, with respect to powers and duties, references to the exercise of the powers and the carrying out of the duties;

F3[Gaeltacht area has the same meaning as it has in Part 2 of the Act of 2012;]

F1["Gaeltacht Language Planning Area" has the same meaning as it has in Part 2 of the Act of 2012;]

F1["Gaeltacht Service Town" has the same meaning as it has in Part 2 of the Act of 2012;]

“head” means the head of a public body;

F3[head of a public body means the person appointed as the principal officer of the public body or, where no such person has been appointed, the person designated by order of the Government made under section 4A to be the head of the public body for the purposes of this Act;]

F4[(c) in relation to the Office of the Commission for Public Service Appointments, the Director of the Office of the Commission for Public Service Appointments,]

(d) in relation to the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Comptroller and Auditor General,

(e) in relation to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Director of Public Prosecutions,

(f) in relation to the F5[Houses of the Oireachtas Service], the Chairman of Dáil Éireann,

(g) in relation to the Office of the Information Commissioner, the Information Commissioner,

F4[(h) in relation to the Public Appointments Service, the Chief Executive of the Public Appointments Service,]

(i) in relation to the Office of the Ombudsman, the Ombudsman,

(j) in relation to any other public body, the person who holds, or performs the functions of, the office of chief executive officer (by whatever name called) of the body;

F1["Irish Language Network" has the same meaning as it has in Part 2 of the Act of 2012;]

“local authority” has the meaning assigned to it by subsection (1) of section 2 of the Local Government Act 2001;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs;

F1["National Plan" has the meaning assigned to it by section 18C;]

F1["official form" means a form, including an electronic form, used by a public body in connection with the provision of a service by that body;]

“the official languages” means the Irish language (being the national language and the first official language) and the English language (being a second official language) as specified in Article 8 of the Constitution;

“prescribed” means prescribed by the Minister by regulations under section 4;

“proceedings” means civil or criminal proceedings before any court;

“public body” shall be construed in accordance with the First Schedule;

“record” includes any memorandum, book, plan, map, drawing, diagram, pictorial or graphic work or other document, any photograph, film or recording (whether of sound or images or both), F6[any form in which data are held (including machine-readable form)] or thing in which information is held or stored manually, mechanically or electronically and anything that is a part or a copy, in any form, of any of the foregoing or is a combination of two or more of the foregoing;

“a scheme” means a scheme confirmed by the Minister under section 14;

“service” means a service offered or provided (whether directly or indirectly) to the general public or a class of the general public by a public body.

F1["statutory body" means a body established by or under statute.]

(2) (a) In this Act a reference to a section or schedule is a reference to a section of or Schedule to this Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended.

(b) In this Act a reference to a subsection or paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the subsection or paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.

Annotations:

Amendments:

F1

Inserted (20.06.2022) by Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021 (49/2021), s. 2(c), S.I. No. 313 of 2022, art. 2(b).

F2

Inserted by Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021 (49/2021), s. 2(c), not commenced as of date of revision.

F3

Substituted (13.03.2023) by Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021 (49/2021), s. 2(a), (b), S.I. No. 90 of 2023.

F4

Substituted (6.10.2004) by Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004 (33/2004), s. 61 and sch. 2, commenced on enactment.

F5

Substituted (1.01.2010) by Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Act 2009 (44/2009), s. 14 and sch. part 1 item 6, commenced as per s. 15(3).

F6

Substituted (25.05.2018) by Data Protection Act 2018 (7/2018), s. 194, S.I. No. 174 of 2018, art. 3.

Modifications (not altering text):

C2

Functions transferred and references construed (1.05.2011) by Irish Language, Gaeltacht and the Islands (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 164 of 2011), arts. 2, 3 and sch., in effect as per art. 1(2), subject to transitional provisions in arts. 4-8.

2. (1) The administration and business in connection with the exercise, performance or execution of any functions transferred by Article 3 are transferred to the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

(2) References to the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs contained in any Act or any instrument made thereunder and relating to any administration and business transferred by paragraph (1) shall, from the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

3. (1) The functions vested in the Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs by or under the Acts specified in Part 1 of the Schedule and the provisions of the Acts specified in Part 2 of the Schedule in so far as they relate to—

(a) supporting and promoting the Irish language, including the co-ordination of policy in that regard, and the development of the Gaeltacht and the Islands,

(b) promoting the cultural, social and economic welfare of the Gaeltacht,

(c) supporting and promoting North/South co-operation in relation to the Irish language and Ulster-Scots heritage, culture and language, and

(d) An Foras Teanga, An Coimisinéir Teanga and Údarás na Gaeltachta, are transferred to the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport.

(2) References to the Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs contained in any Act or instrument made thereunder and relating to any functions transferred by this Article shall, from the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport.

SCHEDULE

Part 1

Official Languages Act 2003 (No. 32 of 2003)

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