A STATE agency is set to hire 16 new staff to work on a new Irish language dictionary and edit text books, despite a recruitment freeze throughout the public service.

The €800,000 worth of appointments have been approved by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, whose own future was in question after recommendations were made to disband it in the report of An Bord Snip Nua.

The department defended the appointments and said they were existing jobs, which had been "held open" because of a dispute over decentralisation. They also said the recruitment freeze did not apply to north-south bodies, of which Foras na Gaeilge – the agency involved – is one.

A statement said: "The posts that have now been approved for advertising include vacancies that were held open pending resolution of the decentralisation issue case taken by the unions representing Foras na Gaeilge staff to the Labour Relations Commission. All these posts are within the current Foras na Gaeilge staffing complement – they are not extra posts that have been approved since the restrictions on the wider public service came into force.

"These restrictions do not apply to the north-south bodies. The purpose of the posts ... includes important work on the new English-Irish dictionary project, terminology development and the writing and editing of books, teaching and learning resources as well as other work included in the business plan of the organisation."

The jobs announcement comes after Minister Eamon O Cuiv recently announced plans to hire five translators to translate 48,000 pages of statutory instruments into Irish. O Cuiv, the minister with responsibility for the Irish language, has also just announced a 20-year plan, which some critics have said actually meant a reduced role for Foras na Gaeilge.

A statement said: "The 20-year strategy does not propose a reduction in the functions of Foras na Gaeilge. Foras na Gaeilge will continue to act on behalf of the Irish government and the Northern Ireland Executive in promoting Irish on an all-island basis."

The department also said there were valid reasons why Foras na Gaeilge had not published annual reports and accounts since 2005. They said the accounts – along with those of the Ulster Scots Agency – first had to be amalgamated and examined by the Comptroller and Auditor General on both sides of the border.

A statement said: "The 2005 accounts have now been cleared for publication and will be published very shortly."