§ Lord Lairdasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 14 September (WA 180), whether an Irish language speaker in Ireland could, as a result of the Official Languages Act 2003 enacted by the Republic of Ireland, require the Ulster-Scots Agency to communicate with him or her only in Irish. [HL4283]
§ The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos)The Official Languages Act 2003 was enacted by the Irish Government and its detailed interpretation is therefore a matter for the relevant authorities in Ireland and the Irish courts.
§ Lord Lairdasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord President on 12 October (WA 50) concerning bullying allegations, what was the outcome of the investigations by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure concerning the Ulster-Scots Agency.[HL4505]
§ Baroness AmosAs the then chairman of the Ulster-Scots Agency, the noble Lord was informed by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure in its letter dated 21 August 2003 that the outcome of both allegations of bullying were:
- (i) The civil servant who had made the allegation had advised the department that she saw no benefit in pursuing the issue as the agency employee against whom the complaint had been made had since retired and was currently living abroad and outside the jurisdiction.
- (ii) The department did not receive any replies to its correspondence with the person whom the consultant, then employed by the Ulster-Scots Agency, had named in a complaint against the agency. Thus it was concluded upon legal advice that the complaint could not be effectively and conclusively investigated and the matter resolved.