The final provisions of the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021 will come into force on 21 December 2024 in line with a statutory deadline.

From that date, posts to public bodies on social media will have to be responded to in the official language in which they are received and correspondence sent out by public bodies to the public to market themselves or their services will be done in Irish only or bilingually.

The names of newly-established public bodies will be in Irish only and new or updated logos of public bodies will be in Irish or bilingual — a trend that has already been established with the likes of Coimisiún na Meán, Cuan, Tailte Éireann and the rebranding of Irish Water.

Elements of services provided by third parties on behalf of public bodies will now also come under the Act.

The commencement will also give effect to the provisions relating to the protection of the use of, and accurate recording, of names, addresses and titles in Irish, including the ‘síneadh fada’, as well as the layout of official forms in Irish only or bilingually.

The implementation of these specific provisions will, however, involve a further step before they take wider effect, in that public bodies will be prescribed to these additional duties in due course. The government says it hopes that this process will commence in the first half of 2025 in conjunction with the language standards.

Tourism, culture, arts, Gaeltacht, sport and media minister Catherine Martin said: “2025 will be a significant year for the Irish language, one that will change and strengthen language rights and the use of Irish in the public sector.

“The Act provides a solid foundation for the provision of public services through Irish and provides clear guidance to public bodies regarding their language obligations.

“I am confident that these new provisions will significantly improve the quality and quantity of services available through Irish. This is a major step forward in the development of Irish as a living language in the public service.”

Thomas Byrne, the minister of state for the Gaeltacht, added: “The Official Languages Act is a historic and innovative piece of work and the commencement of these provisions is certainly another significant step forward. The public expects and deserves excellent Irish language services.

“A lot of work has been undertaken since the amended Act was enacted three years ago and this work will now gain further momentum in the first half of 2025 to ensure that all these pieces begin to come together between the National Action Plan, the Language Standards and these provisions now.

“We are now moving from theory to practice. This Act ensures that the first official language of our State will be alive and relevant in our daily lives.”

Guidelines will be issued in relation to the new public duties before the end of March 2025 to support public bodies in their implementation and provide transparency to the public about what they can expect in this space in the period ahead.