Regulations under the Act

Every public body named under the Act has a statutory duty to comply with the Regulations made by the Minister for Culture, Heritage and Gaeltacht under section 9(1) of the Act.

Under the Regulations, public bodies have a duty to ensure that their stationery, signage and recorded oral announcements are provided in Irish only, or in English and Irish, in accordance with specific criteria set out in the Regulations.

The Regulations set out clear instructions regarding the order, size, prominence and visibility of the text in Irish and English on signs and in bilingual stationery. Specific exemptions are allowed in certain cases for stationery, signage and recorded oral announcements.

The Regulations will come into effect over a period of time as set out here.

Stationery

Key dates for implementation of the Regulations with regard to stationery
Deadline Implementation
1 March 2009 Implementation of the Regulations with regard to stationery, except in the following cases
1 March 2011 For stationery already in the public body’s possession on 1 March 2009
1 March 2013 For stationery requiring a computer programme change to provide the stationery in Irish

Signs

Key dates for implementation of the Regulations with regard to signs
Deadline Implementation
1 March 2009 For new signs i.e. signs placed on any site on or after 1 March 2009 (whether in place of older signs or not)
1 March 2012 For signs placed on any site before 1 March 2009 which would fulfil the requirements of these Regulations except there is an error in the Irish text
1 March 2013 For signs in English only placed on any site before 1 March 2009
1 January 2026 For signs placed on any site that comply with the Regulations except the text in Irish is less prominent, visible or legible than the text in English or the letters in the text in Irish are smaller in size than the letters in the text in English
1 March 2013 For signs of any other class

Recorded Oral Announcements

Key date for implementation of the Regulations with regard to recorded oral announcements
Deadline Implementation
1 July 2013 Implementation of the Regulations with regard to recorded oral announcements

The Regulations (S.I. No.391 of 2008) can be downloaded here.