Launch of Language Skills Dbase

On Thursday 10^th July at 2.30 the Mayor of South Dublin County Councillor Marie Corr will officially launch South Dublin County Council Language Skill Dbase in the Council Chamber.

The end of the 20^th and the beginning of the 21^st centuries has been called the age of migration. As a consequence, many of the cities and towns throughout Ireland are becoming increasingly multicultural as the ethnic profile of many communities and workplaces begins to change and diversify. One of the High Level Goals of the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion and the National Development Plan 2007 - 2013 is to develop strategies aimed at achieving the integration of new comers to our society.

Integration is one of the most important challenges faced by South Dublin County Council over the next few years. One of the main objectives of the Council is to facilitate inter agency collaboration and initiatives to promote integration in the county. In this regard the Social Inclusion Unit advertised on the Council Intranet for expression of interest from staff who would be interested in using their language skills to assist migrants who are experiencing language difficulties in accessing the services provided by the Council. Twenty three members of staff responded to the advertisement and the languages we have available in house include French, Portuguese, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Cantonese, Mandrain, German, Swedish, Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam. For languages that we do not have available in house we have access to a Translation Company.

It is believed that this initiative will assist with any migrants who may require interpretative skills, especially if they have arrived recently or are isolated from people speaking the same language and it will help people conduct their business with the Council in an inclusive manner. It will provide information that is clear, timely, complete, accurate, available at defined points of contact, and meets the requirements of people with specific access/support needs. It ensures the optimum use of Information and Communications Technology.

The core aim of South Dublin County Council is to provide citizens with a highest quality service in an economic, efficient, effective and equitable manner.

For further information please contact Maria Finn, Senior Staff Officer, Social Inclusion Unit, Community Services Department, South Dublin County Council, Town Centre, Tallaght, Dublin 24. Tel: 086 3803060 email: mfinn@sdublincoco.ie

Issued on 3^rd July 08