What connects a pony and cart in 1905 & drink driving in 2015! #CeartaTeanga

Language Rights: What a distance between the attitude today and the mind of Pearse!

Last Tuesday was the anniversary of a remarkable event in Irish, and possibly European history. An Ombdsman resigned. That may not be remarkable in itself but he fact that this ombudsman resigned on principle is. He resigned rather that be judged as "complicit in deceit."

Shortly before his resignation took place Seán Ó Cuirreáin said,  "The choice I had was to stand aside from my appointment as Coimisinéir Teanga on principle to draw attention to these matters or to continue in my role and, consequently, to participate in a pretence.  I am absolutely certain that I made the correct decision." (Oireachtas Sub Committee 23 Jan 2014)

Seán Ó Cuirreáin agus Uachtarán na hÉireann

It created a great sadness, not to say anger in the people who had felt more and more oppressed for many years now - the Irish speaking community in the Gaeltacht and throughout the rest of the country. They voiced their anger in large demonstrations in Dublin and Belfast attended by thousands of people. It also marked an extraordinary demonstration in South Conamara, Slán le Seán,  to mark this event and a very real affection for this man whom the President of Ireland called "one of the most courteous people I have ever met," and paid tribute to his " integrity and intellectual honesty." 

He has correctly maintained a strict silence since his resignation for a reasonable time. This has allowed his successor in office time to settle in and familiarise himself with the office.

Two court cases!
The journal Tuairisc.ie has invited a number of people to write articles on various aspects of life as part of the commemorations of the centenary of the 1916 Rising. One of these was Seáon Ó Cuirreáin and his piece was published on Thursday morning. It is entitled "100 years since the rising and compulsory English is all but inevitable!" (Gaeilge). In this article he compares two courtcases just over a century apart to illustrate the attitude of the State systems, albeit two different states, to the language, that language which is the oldest living written language in Europe.

P.H. Pearse - Counsel before Kings Bench

In this article he compares two legal cases. The first was a famous case in 1905, taken by the then British state against Niall Mac Giolla Bhríde of Craoslach in Co Donegal. He had been arrested by the local constabulary because the name he was obliged to have on the side of his cart was "illegible." It had been written in the old Gaelic Script. He was found guilty and fined two shillings. The case was appealed to the Court of the Kings Bench. P.H. Pearse was the defending counsel but the court judged that it was illegal for a person to use his name in Irish or in the Irish script.

One hundred and ten years later Mihai Avadenei, a Romanian, was arrested and found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol. On appeal he pointed out that the law had transgressed his language rights as the document, issued in Store Street Garda Station, in which the details of the levels on alcohol in his blood was in English alone whereas the law, enacted four years previously, clearly stated that it ought to be in both Irish and English. He had not claimed that he was an Irish speaker but relied solely on the wording of the law.

The Government regarded this not as a failure of the Garda authorities to act on the law but rather as a weakness in the law itself. An emergency ruling was issued to change this law stating that this form should be in English or in Irish rather than bilingual.

An Trucailín Donn Lá aonaigh san earrach 's mé 'taisteal go triopallach, Trasna an droichid i Muileann na hAbhann, Sea chonaic mé Bobby gurbh ainm dó Thuigyme, 'S é ag druidim 'mo choinne go teann. Agus óro bog liom í, bog liom í bog liom í, Óro bog liom í an trucailín donn. Óro bog liom í, druid liom í, corraigh í, Óro bog liom í an trucailín donn. Ba ghairid go bhfaca mé asal is trucail bheag, Chugainn ar sodar faoi Mhícheál an Gabha, Siúd leis an Bobby: "This cart has no signature, Only a lingo I cannot make out!" Agus óro bog liom í... "Your name my good man, and answer right quickly now." "Amharc ar an trucail, nó an bhfuileann tú dall? Tá m'ainmse breacaithe i dteanga a thuigimse Is fógraím tusa go hIfreann lom!" Agus óro bog liom í... "Ten shillings with costs or a fortnight's imprisonment, Next on the list. Take this reprobate down!" "Cuirtear faoi ghlasa mé feasta, a ghlagaire, Pingin de m'sheilbh ní fheicfidh sibh ann." Agus óro bog liom í... Níl trucail gan ainm bhreá lacanta legible, Gaeilge le feiceáil i Muileann na hAbhann Agus ceardaithe an bhaile sea tugaid ar Thuigyme, Fós ná "Trucailín Mhicín an Gabha". This is a popular little song written commemorating the story of Niall Mac Giolla Bhríde's little brown cart.

Ó Cuirreáin states that it is difficult to believe that there was a deficiency in a law that was amended urgently in 2015. There was however a significant failing in the following of this law by the Garda Authorities. The simple cure for this problem was an direction to the Garda to amend their system fully to comply with the law as originally formatted in 2011. However for some reason it appears it was easier to change the law than to fulfill it.

These two court cases - 110 years apart - show how difficult it appears to be to create or to allow a space in the the administration of the law and the courts for "the language of the Gael!"

Not only the courts
But, maintains the former Coimisnéir, this problem does not apply to the courts alone.

In 1928, his research has shown, the Government of the day decided to allow a period of three years for all state services to be available in the language of the people to Gaeltacht areas. His research further discovered that between 1928 and 1966 this direction was postponed 54 times for a further six to twelve months. (see report on the opening of Coláiste na hÉireann - 4 Sept 2013). In fact this regulation was never implemented.

In 1974 Richie Ryan, then Minister for Finance, announced as a further strengthening rather than a weakening of the position of Irish the abolition of a requirement of knowledge of Irish in the civil service. Indeed after his appointment as Comisinéir, Seán Ó Cuirreáin discovered that the points system that was instituted to protect the use of Irish in state services was never correctly operated. When this was pointed the Government instituted an even worse system despite the fact that the Coimisinéir wrote to both the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste of the day that the State employees would provide a service in Irish on a "voluntary" system. It is obvious he maintains, that this is a further marginalisation of services from the state in the National Language.

Quite frankly he says, "it appears to me that it is a cynical exercise, without any advantage to language rights, to promise the community language rights in law without ensuring an effective system to ensure the availability of those rights; that is not the case at present." (our translation)

He maintains that there are indeed some advances for Irish, for instance in communications media and the education system. But it is cast to one side more than ever in the public administration system and there is no sign to be seen at present that this will change!

There are of course some state employees who support and understand the position of the language but they are a minority and sidelined. Over all are those for whom, in the words of An tUachtarán, Micheál D Ó hUiginn some years ago, "..the Irish language isn’t half dead enough.” There are those too who believe there is a simple answer to those who select, or who have been born speaking Irish - "Speak Irish with each other but speak English to us!"

What a distance there is between that attitude and that which he imagines was strongly in the heart of Pearse of an Ireland "Free and Gaelic" and he defending the position of Niall Mac Giolla Bhríde before the Kings Bench in 2005.

Process before people! Burocratic bumblings west of the Corrib!

Stop Press: U-Turn The Dept's Announcement 26th September 2015: Raidío na Gealtachta news reader Maríon Ní Shúilleabháin was first out of the stocks at 21.00 last evening  with a tweeted copy of a embargoed release from the Department which announced the cancellation of the contract for a helicopter service from Carnmore to the Aran Islands. This is in fact a u-turn by the government.  Here is how it is reported by the Irish Times: Tender procedure for Aran Island air service cancelled! The Irish Independent has: Minister cancels decision to award Aran Islands air service to helicopter firm! And the Journal.ie: Aran Islands helicopter contract cancelled after backlash from locals!  And this is how tuairisc.ie (the Irish news service)  reported it: Deireadh curtha leis an bpróiseas tairisceana maidir le seirbhís aeir d’Oileáin Árann!  Sadly there has been no good news for the people of Cleggan as AnPost have been adamant in their decision to close the post office service there at a meeting with the people yesterday!

There is an apocraphal story about the discontinuation of the last telephone kiosk in Cill Rónáin, the capital of the Aran Islands. The telephone company removed the telephone and on the door of the kiosk afixxed the following notice:

"Service from this kiosk has been discontinued. However if a telephone is required the nearest in service kiosk is in Roundstone!"

Now the frequency of any, if any, connections to Roundstone - which is on the mainland - is to say the least infrequent. The message that it underlines however is the futility of distance management. The nearest kiosk may very well have been in Roundstone but the possibility of getting there to use it in any reasonable time was non-existent. Local knowledge could have instructed this decision.

There have been  a number of cases in Conamara and Árainn recently which also highlight this lack of local knowledge or indeed respect for local consultation.

The school bus

There are close to 30 young people in our district who attend the  "local" secondary school. This school is not in the parish but about a dozen miles away. Suddenly and without prior notice parents were advised that the bus service which has served the school from this district was been discontinued. Needless to say this created a major problem, not least for the school. The fact that so many pupils would no longer be able easily to attend classes could have implications on how many teachers they could be justified to the Department of Education. Happily after a very strong and robust protest by both parents and school authorities the decision was rescinded. For the moment?

Department superceded!

The Island of Inis Meáin is the smallest of the three islands which guard Galway Bay. It has a small population and a small school. The Department of Education has applied their rules strictly with regard to teacher ratios without reference to the needs of particular areas. This has meant that the primary school on the island has only one teacher teaching all classes from infants up to sixth class. If as has happened that teacher is ill there is no teacher for the school and there is difficulty in getting a temporary teacher not least because of the location of the school. The Government has refused to relent from this hard-line approach and the island suffers as a result. To the eternal shame of the Government a solution was presented, albeit a temporary one. An international company, Zurich Insurance, has agreed to finance a second teacher for this school. Inability to understand local conditions and deliberate deafness to local advice again is the hallmark of the states response. "The case for the reinstatement of an additional teacher at the primary school on Inis Meáin is a strong one," they said in a statement. Obviously not strong enough for the Department to bend its rules.

The local post office.

"An Post regrets to advise customers that this Postal Agency will close on Friday 28th August 2015."  This was the news that greeted residents of NW Connemara village Cleggan a short ten days before it happened. This village is the mainland connection for Inisbofin. It is not a Gaeltacht area.  Their Post Office, which has served the people of Cleggan for at least four decades, was finally to close.  It had been downgraded some years previously to the status of a Sub-Post Office, with no facility to offer full postal services.  However, it had continued to provide Social Benefit payments to pensioners, those on disability payments, and the unemployed.  Cleggan is a relatively isolated village, so the loss of these services locally represents a major blow to the village. The residents of Cleggan and its environs find it impossible to understand the decision by An Post, a decision "taken by some faceless person in An Post".  Local knowledge? Consultation?

Sorry we can't take anyfurther bookings!
But perhaps the most extraordinary example of this kind of senselessness was in the announcement of the termination of the 45 year fixed wing plane service from the Conamara Regional Airport to the Aran Islands and replacing it with a helicopter from the disused Galway Airport some 50+ kilometers away..

Joe McHugh TD - "Pleased!"

"Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs, Joe McHugh T.D., has announced today (26 August 2015) that the preferred tenderer for the air service contract to the Aran Islands is Executive Helicopters Limited. It is intended that the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, as the contracting authority, will conclude a contract with the preferred bidder after September 9 following the standstill period. The Office of Government Procurement was responsible for organising the public procurement process regarding tenders for the air service. Under the new contract, daily return flights by helicopter will be provided between the islands and Galway Airport for the period from 1 October 2015 to 30 September 2019." The Minister obviously had not the slightest clue as to the effect of this announcement as he is quoted as saying. "I'm pleased to be able to make this announcement today. The agreement between my Department and Executive Helicopters Limited ensures that the air service to the Aran Islands will continue over the next four years."

For almost a half century the business community on the islands as well as other sectors (health, education, and tourism and the adminstration of the justice system) have availed of the service of what is now Aer Arann Islands, a service which has provided an enviably efficient service over the years. More recently the predecessor of the current Minister of State had indicated that there might be a discontinuation of the service for economic reason. The islanders made strong representations for the maintenance of the service showing just how the live of the islanders was improved by its existence. Indeed many islanders can have excellent jobs on the mainland and live their lives in their homes on the islands.

The local secondary schools have agreements with schools a short distance from the Conamara airport which greatly enhance the experience of schools on both sites of the water. Island businesses regard the air service as a liveline and use it constantly. Even if the weather is bad and does not allow for the plane service, the airport is close enough to Ros a'Mhíl to allow easy transportation between venues. Some business on the Island will close down if the service welcomed by the Minister is adopted. The airport will close down and there will be a loss of about 40 jobs directly engaged in the Aer Arann Islands service.

Choice or imposition?

In addition there is a fear among many people of traveling in helicopters. They are certainly more susceptible to adverse weather conditions than planes. There is doubt among air professionals as to their flexibility in "island hopping". Indeed there are no examples in all of Europe of a continual air service to islands using other than fixed wing aircraft. Also replacing a 7 minute fixed wing journey from a convenient airport with a 15 to 20 minute journey from the other side of Galway city needs to be justified. The fact that the availability of this airport is in question is also adding to the confusion.

The Office of Government Procurement was responsible for this debacle - some faceless person in Dublin? Even the local TD from the main Government party acknowledges that this particular process is a mess. Indeed aviation experts including a former member of the Air Corps, who, after discussing many of the points made above and more got straight to the nitty gritty: "...a single question remains – was there anyone with aviation experience involved in the procurement process in this particular instance? " To date this question has not been answered.

A meeting of the Islands' delegation with the Minister last Thursday produced no solace for the Islanders. A spokesman for the island delegation said after the meeting that he was even more disappointed than the previous meeting. All the minister would say was that the process had to run its course.

A subsequent statement from the Minister's office explained his position:
"In accordance with legal advice received, it has now been decided to extend the voluntary standstill period to 16 November 2015 with a view to obtaining clarification on the availability of Galway Airport for the duration of the 4 year contract from 1 October 2015 as set out in the Request for Tenders. The Department will be writing to the owners of Galway Airport in that regard.

In order to ensure that an air service continues to be provided to/from the Aran Islands, the Department will be engaging with the existing service provider (Galway Aviation Services Ltd trading as Aer Arann) with a view to agreeing the terms of an extension to the existing contract from 1 October 2015 to 1 February 2016."

Thus it appears that the Minister has extended by three months the contract of Aer Arann Islands. It subsequently appeared that they (Aer Arann Islands) learned about it only from radio reports! Indeed it appears that they still are unofficially aware of the position and are refusing to accept bookings after 30th September (Report in Sunday Independent 13 Sep 2015).

See also this article in Flying in Ireland 11 Sep 2015 -  Climb down on Aran Islands Air Service – For Now.

Meanwhile protective notice for those whose jobs are directly or indirectly have been issued.

Is it little wonder that the picture shown in this account of the most recent discussion with the Minister (the second in about a week) looks like nothing so much as a post funeral gathering. (Pic Tuairisc.ie)

A recent piece from a resident of the smallest of these three islands gives their perspective and indeed expectation. "I learned about the evacuation of the Blasket Islands in 1953 and how the government of the day stood by and allowed these islanders, a people rich in our own culture and language was allowed to be confined to the annals of history. 

If we continue to go in the direction that we are going, if we accept this and not stand up for what is right I believe that my own children will one day be interviewed by scholars eager to learn about how life on the Aran Islands was when they used to be populated."

Another islander has written this article which appeared in The Examiner: Aer Arann is more than an airline to the Aran Islands. It’s a lifeline. (15/9/2015). "Aer Arann’s current PSO from the State is €1.2m. The revised PSO, won by Executive Helicopters, was for €800,000.

This isn’t much more than annual social welfare payments that will need to be paid to those in the direct employment of Aer Arann as of next month, most of whom have skills that are not transferable.

Factor in the additional dole drawn when jobs are lost due to a downturn in tourism and craft trades, and that saving from cutting the PSO becomes dwarfed by hand-outs. Inis Maan Knitting Factory feel they will probably have to relocate. They employ 10% of the entire island’s population

Jobs that would only take an hour or so to do — such as fixing the Sky box or wi-fi — will now cost islanders a full day’s rate, as the helicopter and ferry service will be reduced to two crossings a piece. Islanders will also have to wait for service providers to have a full day that they can commit to doing the simplest of jobs."

There are those who say that this contract is part of an interim scheme to discontinue the air service completely by making it unworkable. In a few years time a justifiable decision would be made that since the service is not been used that much it should be shut down completely. But not even the state bureaucracy could be that devious. Could it?

Responsibility It was a Fine Gael led Government which abolished the requirement for Irish in the state service. It was a Fine Gael led government which de-democratised the Gaeltacht Authority. It was a Fine Gael led government which watered down the law which stated that all bills and acts should be issued in both languages simultaeneously. It was a Fine Gael government that proposed the subsumation of the Office of Coimisinéir Teanga into the Office of Ombudsman. It was a Fine Gael led Government which allowed a gardiner in its employ be threatened if he did not desist in his advocacy for a strong supportive Government policy on the language. It is a Fine Gael led Government which is presiding over the steadily declining support of rural communities be they English or Irish speaking. Will it be a Fine Gael led government which puts the final nail into another of the unique treasures of our country - our island communities?

Government continuing its policy of "fudge, farce, falshood?"

The derogation on Irish usage in the European Union was mentioned recently in the Dáil. This was instituted when Irish was recognised as an official language of the Union some 10 years ago in order to allow facilities, translators etc to be instituted. This expires at the end of 2016.

Liadh Ní Riada'a frustration. 

The effect of this derogation (the length of which is unprecidented in the European Union experience) was dramatically demonstrated when one of our members of the Europeam Parliment, Liadh Ní Riada was instructed to "Speak in another language...." at one of its meetings. Think of it, a member who from a Gaeltacht Area, whose mother tongue from the cradle it is, is forbidden from speaking in Irish, a recognised EU language, at an official parliamentary meeting.

Earlier this year a crowded meeting in Dublin's historic Wynn's Hotel was addressed by Dr Professor P. B. Ó Laighin and MEP Liadh Ní Riada among others. 

"I know that a decision in principle has been made
by the Government that the derogation will not be
ended by 31st December 2016 and that the  derogation
will be renewed from  the 1st January 2017." 

Dr Ó Laighin is an acknowledged expert on language matters in the European Union. At that meeting he stated that there was little need for this derogation to be continued from the end of 2016. In trying to ascertain the attitude of the current Government he approached various branches of  administration both in Europe and in Ireland. The EU sources all said that it was a matter solely for the Irish Government. When he approached the Government Departments he was frustrated and delayed again and again and was unable to get a clear response one way or another. (Indeed this writer was quite shocked at the discourtesy shown to such an esteemed expert in the field.) However from his experience and the talks that he did have with them he felt that he was able to make a statement on the matter. He put it up on the screen during his presentation. He stated baldly that "To my knowledge a decision in principle has been made by the Government .... that the derogation will be renewed from the 1st January 2017."

He also stated that there were virtually no reasons any more for the continuation of this derogation. There are translators available, the vocabulary for technical and legal terms is more complete that that of some fully recognised languages and indeed the European institutions are more than prepared to accommodate Irish on equal terms to the other smaller languages like Maltese, Estonian, Latvian etc. Indeed Irish was reported in the Irish Times (13 Nov 2013) as the 14th biggest language in the EU terminology database.  That Ireland and the Irish are ready for the ending of this derogation is without doubt. Indeed it is of great advantage to those whose mother or cradle language is Irish as things stand. Crucially many  jobs require applicants to have at least a “thorough knowledge” of an official EU language and “satisfactory knowledge” of either English, French or German. Many third level courses are available such as Kings Inns. The law school offers a number of Irish language courses that are designed to help graduates secure lucrative translation jobs in Europe including some non-degree courses. (cf Article in The 42 13/6/2015).

Government response?
The recent statement in response to a question in the Dáil - itself no paragon of virtue when it comes to facilitate the use of the National Language - elicited a response from the Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs, Joe McHugh TD which appears to confirm Dr Ó Laighin's assertion. (Source: Report in Irish from Seán Tadhg Ó Gairbhí in Tuairisc.ie 11 June 2015).

He said that an examination was been made by his department, the Taoiseach's Department and EU Institutions of the services at present provided in Irish and on “the potential to expand these services”.

In short, as in so many matters (and not only in the matter of the Language) the name of the game is obfuscation and pretence. The sort of thing that lead to the resignation in frustration of Seán Ó Cuirreáin, "The choice I had was to stand aside from my appointment as Coimisinéir Teanga on principle to draw attention to these matters or to continue in my role and, consequently, to participate in a pretence!" (to Oireachtas Committee 23 Jan 2014). He was the first Ombudsman to resign on a matter of principle in Ireland, and maybe in Europe, since the foundation of the state.

As many people have been saying of late there is little purpose in trying to rely on The Irish State in these matters. "There are stronger and more widespread forces in place (in the administration) who have little or no concern for the future of our national language." These are those, in the words of President Michael D Higgins, “for whom Irish was not half dead enough.” 

This is year 5 of the adopted 20 year scheme for Irish and this Government cannot point to any one of the recommendations that has been adopted - even those ones which would cost little or no money.

"As we begin to regain our economic sovereignty, it would be a travesty if we were to lose our linguistic sovereignty – a cornerstone of our cultural identity, heritage and soul as a nation. I believe this to be a clear and present danger." (Seán Ó Cuirreáin as he announces his resignation 6th December 2013).

It appears this belief is still valid some eighteen months later!

Maybe you could sign Liadh Ní Riada's petition to the Taoiseach!

Floccinaucinihilipilification! The State attitude to the National Language & its speakers!

"The choice I had was to stand aside from my appointment as Coimisinéir Teanga on principle to draw attention to these matters or to continue in my role and, consequently, to participate in a pretence". (Seán Ó Cuirreáin)

This is a translation of the remarks made by Seán Ó Cuirreáin to the Oireachtas Sub-Committee on the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language on Thursday 23rd January 2014.In light of what he is saying here is it not significent that no member of either Government party, Fine Gael or Labour, thought it worthwhile to attend?

We have taken our title from a letter which propitiously appeared in the Irish Times that morning (and reproduced in the box below right) with a new old word for "the action or habit of estimating as worthless!" The use of such a word to describe the States attitude to the National language and those who use it regardless of where they are is I think justified in light of words of the first Comisinéir Teanga before his resignation takes effect!

This translation has been edited lightly, breaking certain paragraphs to allow for ease of reading and puting in some headings which do not appear in the official translation.This is available in pdf format on the website of the Office of the Coimisinéir Teanga!

The text in its original language may be found here in html format! 
Irish language ‘being driven to margins of society!' (Irish Times, 24/1/2014)
‘Irish language policy risks being seen as a sham’ (Irish Examiner 24/1/2014)
Gross Insult to dedicated servant (Irish Examiner 28/1/2014)

<<
I would like to thank you for your invitation here today. When I addressed another joint committee of the Houses of the Oireachtas at the beginning of last month, I hadn’t expected to be back here today and it’s an honour and a privilege to have received your invitation. I announced here at the beginning of December that I had decided to stand aside from the position of Coimisinéir Teanga in a
month’s time, on 23rd February, when I will have completed 10 years in that capacity. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those people who have contacted me in the meantime; I appreciate very much all of the messages of goodwill which I received locally, nationally and internationally.

A Letter in the Irish Times 23rd Jan 2014 Sir, – The longest word in the English language, writes Patsy McGarry (In a Word, Time Out, January 20th) is antidisestablishmentarianism, unrivalled. It has 28 letters. But it does not appear in my admittedly ancient Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (1955). What does appear is the word that used to delight us as children: floccinaucinihilipilification. It has 29 letters. Dating from 1741, it means the action or habit of estimating as worthless. – Yours, etc, HILARY WAKEMAN, Skeagh, Schull, Co Cork.

Reasons for Resignation
Before I focus on the theme for discussion today – the 20-year Strategy for the Irish language – I would like to mention the main reason that I decided to resign as Coimisinéir Teanga. I had, in essence, come to the firm belief that in the two years which remained in my term of office, there would be little else that I could personally achieve in relation to language rights for Irish speakers and Gaeltacht communities.

Marginalisation of Irish
I believe that the language is continuously being edged aside, pushed towards the margins of society and that includes much of the public sector. I would not support the premise that the fault lies primarily with politicians but it appears to me, notwithstanding those within the State sector who support the language, that there are stronger and more widespread forces in place who have little or no concern for the future of our national language. 

Some progress has been made over the past 10 years since the introduction of the Official Languages Act – particularly in the use of Irish on public signage, in stationery and in publications. There is a greater awareness of language rights and our Office supports this. The neglect in promoting the language scheme element of the Act has resulted in severe restrictions on the progress which might have been made.

• I believe there is no possibility that the new system being introduced to increase the number of civil servants fluent in Irish will succeed.  A commitment that State service through Irish be provided in Gaeltacht areas without terms and conditions is not forthcoming  and consequently, the practice will persist where the State sector is effectively saying to Gaeltacht communities: “Speak Irish among yourselves, but don’t speak it to us!”.

• More than two years have elapsed since a review of the Official Languages Act began, yet at this stage, the very first step in amending the legislation – the publication of ‘heads of a bill’ has not been taken. A new deadline was announced last week for the publication of the amendments – before summer.

• A decision to merge the functions of my  Office with the Office of the Ombudsman was made without reference to me or to the then  Ombudsman, yet again more than two years later, no details are available publicly of the  proposed new arrangement or how it is thought it might work.  It was announced last week that the merger will happen by next September. 

• I believe that the Office was never given adequate resources to fully perform its statutory  obligations in a satisfactory manner. 

• For those who believe in language rights for Gaeltacht communities and for Irish speakers in general this is a time of great uncertainty. I have always held the opinion that the support required for the Irish language within this country’s public service should not and could not be viewed as an optional extra. Language rights are permanent rights; they are not concessions or privileges granted at
times of prosperity.

• If the State cannot provide assurances, when the language legislation is being amended, that it will ensure that it can communicate in Irish with Gaeltacht communities without terms and conditions and that it will have adequate staff in public administration with proficiency in Irish, then I believe that its policy will be viewed as a sham.

• The choice I had was to stand aside from my appointment as Coimisinéir Teanga on principle to draw attention to these matters or to continue in my role and, consequently, to participate in a pretence.  I am absolutely certain that I made the correct decision.  The process of appointing a new commissioner has now begun and I would like to extend my best wishes to whoever is appointed as my successor.

The Strategy (The 20 Year strategy for the Irish Language published 2009)
I understand that as a subcommittee you have a particular focus on the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish language and that you wish me to direct some of my comments today to that matter.

I played an active part in the preparation of the Strategy – I published recommendations on the subject and I met with the group of international experts established to advise on the drafting of the Strategy.

I stated – when launching Ard-Fheis Chonradh na Gaeilge in 2008 – that the implementation of the strategy could be amongst the most important actions for the future of the language since the foundation of the State.  I also gave a very clear warning at the time: “It is important that we do not forget that any strategy is worthless unless it is implemented.  The agreement and publication of the strategy must be a starting point on a new journey and not the destination.”

The following year, I stated that it was necessary to begin the implementation of the strategy effectively and without delay, and,  if that were not to happen, and if it were to be treated in the same manner as countless other commendable reports, then it would be preferable to discard it immediately to avoid further cynicism.  I stated at that time that actions in accordance with the commitments were required rather than empty promises.

So, is the Strategy being implemented?  I don’t know.  And with all due respect to you as a subcommittee, I believe that you don’t know either as there is no independent audit or review being conducted on the implementation of the Strategy.

It is self-assessment only and from the experience of my Office in auditing the language schemes of State bodies over the past 10 years, little value or importance can be attached in reality to self-assessment.

In any area of life, it is difficult to depend on any review by stakeholders with vested interests, but, on the other hand, research based evidence is of immense value. We have also learned a valuable lesson over the years – that there is a basis for the phrase “what gets measured gets done!” Unless audits and independent assessments are carried out I don’t believe anyone can give any guarantees as to implementation.

Expert opinion
But a person may have an opinion: here is an opinion from an expert. Seosamh Mac Donnacha from the National University of Ireland, Galway, was (with Conchúr Ó Giollagáin) one of the authors of “The Comprehensive Linguistic Study of the Use of Irish in the Gaeltacht” - research work which prompted the Strategy.

Speaking at Tóstal na Gaeilge last year, he said that the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language no longer existed. “I am aware that we have a document which we call The 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030. But a document and a Strategy are not one and the same. We do not have a live Strategy that is being implemented in a consistent systematic manner...” (trans.)

Dr John Walsh, another expert, had the following to say in this month’s edition of the magazine Comhar: “The 20-Year Strategy is now like a corpse and the Irish language is more marginalised than ever in the Civil Service.”(trans.)

“A dead document”
Seosamh Mac Donnacha described the Strategy as ‘a dead document’ and he also said that the Department of the Gaeltacht no longer exists – “we merely have a sub-section which deals with the Irish language and Gaeltacht issues – a sub-section of a department which is large and diverse... And that sub-section is located far from the centre of power (in Na Forbacha, Conamara); it is at the bottom of the internal power chain within its own department; and that parent department is at the bottom of the power chain to which all the Government Departments belong, which means that it is difficult for it to have any significant impact on policy formulation or on the implementation of the policies of those other departments which have a central role in the implementation of the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish language...” (trans.)

The core issue for him is that a sub-section which is operating in those circumstances could not protect or preserve what is left of the Gaeltacht, and that we are only fooling ourselves if we think it could.

It is a pessimistic assessment, but unfortunately, I am very aware that many in the Gaeltacht communities and Irish speakers in general share that view. The writer, Seosamh Mac Grianna, once said that the truth is "not just bitter but savage which is why it is avoided."

I firmly believe that if this debate is to succeed, it must be based on the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have no wish to be negative about this, but I believe that the starting point must always be based on reality rather than on a presumption based on unfounded hope. Groupthink has no place in matters as important as the survival of a language.

Based on census figures from 2002, it was argued in 2007 that the Irish language would survive no more than 15-20 years as the predominant community language in the strongest Gaeltacht areas that remained. Of course, it will survive as a language, and the last native Irish speaker has not yet been born. But that in no way equates to its survival as the predominant community language, handed down in an unbroken chain, from generation to generation. As someone who cares about the future of the language and the Gaeltacht and as a person who has spent the most of his life living in the Gaeltacht, it doesn’t appear to me that significant actions or worthwhile, practical steps have been taken on the ground to address the scale of the language emergency in the Gaeltacht since that very clear warning was given seven years ago.

Tick-Tock

"Economic planning would not be left to such local communities nor would they be given responsibility to decide locally on matters concern housing, roads or the environment.  But when it comes to the language, well, that’s another story!"

A new Gaeltacht Act has been enacted, although the welcome it received could hardly be said to have resounded through the hills and glens of the Gaeltacht. It changed the structure of the board of Údarás na Gaeltachta and, in conjunction with the Údarás and Foras na Gaeilge, placed liability for language planning on Gaeltacht communities who never sought that responsibility. Economic planning would not be left to such local communities nor would they be given responsibility to decide locally on matters concern housing, roads or the environment.  But when it comes to the language, well, that’s another story!

Certain areas have been chosen and more will be chosen to prepare language plans; they will be given two years to prepare the plans and seven years to implement them. Meanwhile tick-tock, Tempus fugit and if, as is said in Irish, “God’s mills grind slowly” it appears the wheels of the state turn more slowly still, particularly in the case of the language.

When I see the sorry state of the system put in place to develop language plans or language schemes in State bodies because of ineffective implementation, it is unfortunately very difficult for me to have any confidence in the new language planning system envisaged in the Gaeltacht Act.

Indeed, I very much doubt if those who are officially responsible for directing the implementation of the Strategy and the language planning initiative, truly believe, in their heart of hearts, that there is any realistic hope that these policies will in fact succeed or bear fruit. And, certainly, if those charged with that responsibility don’t believe in it, then surely there is little reason for anybody else to have any faith in it either: no social legislation can be effectively implemented unless the public in general has confidence in it and supports it.

The Act and the Strategy
With regard to the Irish language in the State sector, I recently read an article by a retired senior civil servant who said, in his opinion, that there was “growing evidence that there is a strategy afoot to do away with what’s left of Irish in the public life of the county.” Seán Mag Leannáin spent 15 years as a principal officer in the civil service until he retired in December 2009. He said:

“The civil service establishment...are almost 100 per cent united in their view of Irish as an irritating thorn in the administration. The mandarins know there isn’t political consensus on the issue and they calculate that even to open a public debate on Irish would be to accord it a status it doesn’t deserve – far better to ignore it as if it didn’t exist and to starve the Official Languages Act of the resources to implement it. Let the whole thing wither on the vine...”

"It reminds me of a phrase used by our President Michael D Higgins, speaking at the biennial Tóstal na Gaeilge conference in Galway in 2010, when he referred to those 'for whom Irish was not half dead enough.'”

Furthermore he had this to say; “When the Official Languages Act was passed over 10 years ago the top civil servants adopted a minimalist, wait-and-see approach. They knew that without their active support the new legislation was never going to have much effect. But what started as passive inaction on their part now seems to have moved up a notch or two to one of active undermining.

It reminds me of a phrase used by our President Michael D Higgins, speaking at the biennial Tóstal na Gaeilge conference in Galway in 2010, when he referred to those “for whom Irish was not half dead enough.”

What an interesting perspective from a courageous man who was at the centre of the state sector.

A commitment was made in the Strategy that a system would be put in place whereby the number of staff in the public service who could conduct their business in Irish would be increased. I have already referred to this new system that is to be put in place on a pilot basis. Perhaps it is simply enough to say that research carried out on our behalf found that, based on official figures from the Department of Education and Skills, it would take this new system, if implemented fully and positively, about 28 years to double the percentage of administrative staff in that department with fluency in Irish, from 1.5% to 3%.

It was further promised on page 45 of the Strategy that language schemes would, in future, specify positions within State bodies where ability in Irish would be required. The Strategy was published in December 2010 – more than three years ago. A total of 26 new language schemes have been confirmed over those past three years but, to date, not even one position in one language scheme has been specified as one where ability in Irish was required!

"10 of these (16) officers who have responsibility for the language coordination in Government departments don’t actually have Irish themselves."

I should also point out that Government departments have nominated Irish language officers or other officials responsible for language affairs to implement the Official Languages Act and to liaise with my Office. These are all talented people who diligently carry out their responsibilities, nonetheless only six out of the 16 officers in question actually have Irish; in other words, 10 of these officers who have responsibility for the language coordination in Government departments don’t actually have Irish themselves.

A series of plans and policies were announced to reform and modernise the public sector last week; as far as I am aware, the words ‘language’ ‘Irish’ or ‘Gaeltacht’  were not mentioned once in these documents.

Education
The Strategy for the Irish language places great emphasis on the place of Irish in the education system and I welcome the decision of the Department of Education and Skills to review the provision of education in the Gaeltacht.


 Two cases
However, I am particularly concerned about this issue in the light of that Department’s attitude as reflected in two education related investigations carried out by my Office recently.

1. In one case, a Gaeltacht primary school complained to me that it had been directed by the Department of Education to appoint a teacher from a panel of surplus teachers although neither the teachers themselves, nor the school authority in question, believed that any of the available teachers had sufficient Irish to teach in a Gaeltacht school.

The following is a random sample of emails sent by the teachers on the panel to the school authorities:

• “...With respect to you, your principal and your pupils, I feel that my standard of Irish would not reach the requirement needed for a Gaeltacht school and Gaeltacht life in general...
• “... To tell the truth, I am rather worried because you are a Gaelscoil and there are native speakers attending the school.”(trans).
• “I am sorry....I do not have sufficient Irish to work in the Gaeltacht.”(trans).
• “Unfortunately I don’t think I would be the best person for the job and I’m sure there’s someone on the panel with more experience in Gaelscoileanna and fluency with Irish than I have.”

"Undoubtedly however, the root of our problem is that we have never made an adequate connection between the learning of Irish and its subsequent use. The State requires students to learn the languages but often the same State denies or obstructs the use of Irish by those people in their dealings with the State."

In spite of that – and despite the fact that some of the pupils would have better Irish than the teachers themselves in this situation – the Department put forward legal and practical arguments to say that there was no need for special arrangements for the Gaeltacht and that every primary school teacher in the country was qualified to teach in a Gaeltacht school. However, I found, as a result of that investigation, that certain provisions of the Education Acts were breached in this case and I made recommendations in line with that finding.

2. In another case, the Department of Education and Skills again put forward legal and practical arguments as to why it was not obliged to provide the option of studying the subjects of the curriculum through Irish up to Leaving Certificate level to students in one of the strongest Gaeltacht regions remaining in Co. Donegal. The school in question has an Irish language stream up to Junior Certificate level but few students opt for this as they would have to change their language of learning from Irish to English for the two final and most important years, the years of the Leaving Certificate.  The investigation by my Office found that the refusal of the Department of Education to provide education through Irish to Gaeltacht students breached its own statutory obligations and in this case also I made recommendations to remedy the situation.

I suspect that you will, in light of this, understand my concern about the educational element of the Strategy.

Undoubtedly however, the root of our problem is that we have never made an adequate connection between the learning of Irish and its subsequent use. The State requires students to learn the languages but often the same State denies or obstructs the use of Irish by those people in their dealings with the State.  There is a disconnect and a failure of joined up thinking there.

Stakeholders
I have referred already to the absence of any independent monitoring of the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish language. Efforts are being made for some time now to have the Irish language and Gaeltacht communities recognised officially as stakeholders by affording them a role in directing  the implementation of the 20-Year Strategy. However, for whatever reason, the State sector has  refused to concede to that proposal. I find this difficult to understand as I once again recall that social legislation cannot be effectively implemented without the confidence and support of the public in general.   

We do hear a lot of buzzwords about interdepartmental committees, bi-lateral talks and implementation plans, but do these amount to positive practical action?

This reminds me of the latest story brought to light by the journalist Breandán Delap from the files of the National Archive released under the 30 year rule. He discovered official documents concerning The Four Year Action Plan for the Irish Language, published in 1983, by the state organisation, Bord na Gaeilge. This was a substantial and significant document in which targets were identified in respect of every aspect of the State sector. However, when the political and civil service inputs had been taken into account all that remained of that ambitious plan were proposals to establish a framework of committees to make recommendations with regard to the use of Irish in public life.

This reminded the journalist of Séamus Mallon’s wry comment concerning the Good Friday Agreement as being “Sunningdale for slow learners.” Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. 
How unfortunate it would be if the same fate were to befall the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish language!

As I prepared to address you here today, I recalled statements made by two of our heroes who passed way in the last year, may they rest in peace – Nelson Mandela who said “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”

And Seamus Heaney, who said “Not to learn Irish is to miss the opportunity of understanding what life in this country has meant and could mean in a better future.  It is to cut oneself off from ways of being at home. If we regard self-understanding, mutual understanding, imaginative enhancement, cultural diversity and a tolerant political atmosphere as desirable attainments, we should remember that knowledge of the Irish language is an essential element in their realisation.”

Choices!
We have two simple choices – to look back at Irish as our lost language or forward with it as a core part of our heritage and sovereignty.

But I would say to you with certainty here today in the Houses of the Oireachtas, that it is with heavy hearts that the people of the Gaeltacht and the Irish speaking community in general will approach the centenary of the 1916 Rising in two years time if our national language is to be merely a symbolic language, and rather than being an integral part of our culture and heritage, that it is pushed aside, marginalised and left in the in the halfpenny place in the life of this nation.

Thank you for your invitation to address you today.
>>

The last heartbreaking paragraph in its original language is in given below. It is indeed tragic that these are the words that the first Ombudsmanin Ireland, Europe and perhaps the world to resign on a matter of principle leaves us as a parting message to legislature!

Open letter to Senators!

Open letter to members of Seanad Éireann on the occasion of debate on Irish and the Gaeltacht!

Dear Senator

I understand that the Seanad is to have a discussion on Irish and the Gaeltacht this afternoon.

I would like to make some points in English and would ask you to forgive any gramatical or other  errors in this paper.

As someone who lives in the Gaeltacht I believe that the language adn the very fabric of society here are being catastrophically threatened by the policys of the current administration.

The demotion of the Department of the Gaeltacht into an Art and Heritage sub set from a more sensible position as a component of Community Development. The Gaeltacht is a community not a museum, art gallery or heritage site. It's spokesman is now a Junior Minister who however well-intentioned has NO input into cabinet decisions concerning his people.

The Language Acht, by no means a perfect piece of legislation, is being steadily watered down and dissassembled. The first straw in the wind was the abolition of the right to have legislation introduced simultaneously into law. The second was the inexplicable decisiion to merge the office of the Language Commissioner into the Ombudsman's Office, a move which even the Junior Minister McGinley admits will cost the State money. In addition the fact that the Ombudsman's office is non-compliant with the law in matters under the responsibility of the Language Commissioner doues not auger well for the new arrangement. The Ombudsman's Office finding itself in breach of the law would be laughable.

Laws in other areas also add to the dangers. May I list those I know of:

1. Proposed legislation to tax on septic tanks only apply to rural areas - where the majority of Gaeltacht Areas are. (I have no problem with the proposed Household Tax in principle rather do I have a problem with the method of its introduction and how it is calculated!)

2. The uncertainty and probable abolition of the representative nature of Údarás na Gaeltachta will lessen if not totally erode the relevence of this body. It does need reform but giving the responsibility to local County Councils to appoint the board is false democracy.

3. Perhaps the most frightening threat from this Government is the decision on rural schools. This effects the Gaeltacht Areas severly. Under this legislation it looks like over eighty schools will close. Places like the Kerry Gaeltacht will leave one rural school as 13 out of 14 fail to reach the new target. In my own area over half the small schools will be closed/merged. Two will close in Múscraí, 28 in Donegal and 2 of the three in the Waterford Gaeltacht will close. In recent discussions between the Parents and public representatives it was apparant that those making the decision in the Department of Education had no idea of the effect or even of the geographic locations of the schools they are closing.

4. Another point about the Department of Education is the fact that only 1% of the staff of that Department are able to provide a service to these Gaeltacht (or any Gaelscoil) Schools.

5. Services like speech-therepy and other health services are by-and-large not available to children and grown-ups in their home language.

6. So-called "environmental issues" like no planning for single rural homes, turf-cutting, special areas of conservation etc are also restrictions which impact in various ways on various Gaeltacht areas.

7. The debacle of the introduction of the houshold tax is merely a reflection of the thoughtlessness in administration. As of this morning the form to register for this tax is unavailable either on-line or in local authority offices.

Finally there is no good example being provided by political, ecclesiastical or other leaders. For instance when was a contribution to discussions on any subject except the language itself ever held in the Dáil or Seanad, not to mention Local Authority. Indeed the only elected State Body which holds its meetings in Irish, Údarás na Gaeltachta, is apparantly sheduled for castration.

The Oireachtas, the Parliament of Ireland has NEVER to my knowledge issued a press release in Irish yet there are at least six media outlets for such releases. If they wish to transmit any news of the Oireachtas, debates or committee they must translate these from their own resources!

The requirements of Gaeltacht Areas are by an large those of many other Rurl Areas excepot they require them in Irish. There are little or no cost implications in this as it only requires personnal who are competant in the language who can speak and write it. In fact if any of the above

I've tried to compress thoughts here and there may be other points which could be made but I think there is enough to go on in the above.

Thank you for your attention and I hope you are successful in catching the Chair's eye in this debate!

Eoin Ó Riain
Irish Citizen
Caorán na gCearc,
Baile na hAbhann
Conamara
Co na Gaillimhe

• A letter from Guth na Gaeltachta with these points and also some others is available on Gaeltacht21: Guth na Gaeltachta chuig an Seanad (Irish 18/2/2012)

Irish translation 'extravagance'

Letters in the Irish Times and Irish Independent!

This letter appeared in both papers

Sir, 

May I commend the National Museum of Ireland and the HSE for both their “lack of will” and “lack of co-operation” with regard to recommendations issued by the Irish Language Commissioner. (“State bodies reported over failures on Irish”, July 8th).

The following response was also sent but not (as yet) published!

Madam,
I was interested to read Mr Doody's letter (Irish translation 'extravagance') in Mondays issue.
Where I live the daily language is Irish and each time specific services through Irish are refused here or indeed anywhere in the country, there is little doubt it 'furthers the drive towards “compulsory English” in state affairs.' to quote a recent report.
Mr Doody's support of the flauting of the law as enacted by Dáil Éireann, Seanad Éireann and promulgated by the President of Ireland, by two state entities was surely not intentional.
The costs incurred by their adherence to the law, which, from the tone of his letter he seems to think might be astronomical, would be negligible if previous recomendations by the statutarily appointed Language Commisioner were acted upon.
In the case of the HSE his directions to them were to assist in the comfort and well being and good health of the patient, something which, had he thought of it, would be strongly supported by Mr Doody.

Yours etc

Eoin Ó Riain,
Caorán na gCearc,
Baile na hAbhann
Co na Gaillimhe

• Another letter sent to the Irish Independent was however published on 14th July 2011 under the somewhat patronising heading, "Gaeilgeoirs compelled to speak in English!"

Given the bad press that many of our State-funded bodies receive, I am delighted to see that at least some of our public servants are unwilling to waste taxpayers’ money on unnecessary extravagances. According to the article, among the complaints made to the Commissioner was one that the HSE had not posted swine flu warnings in Irish. Surely, the vast majority of taxpayers would wish to see HSE funds being spent on improving conditions for patients rather than using scarce resources to translate and produce publications and notices in Irish?

Although I have an enormous amount of respect for the Irish language, I urge the Government to act to change legislation in order to ensure that public funds are not being used to please the small minority of citizens who are Irish- language fanatics. - Yours, etc,

DERMOT DOODY,
Abbeyfield,
Milltown, Dublin 6. 11/7/2011

A chara,

Dermot Doody (July 11th) wants legislative change to ensure that our public funds are not used to please the small minority of citizens who are “Irish-language fanatics”.

Can I make a similar plea: that the even smaller minority of “anti-Irish language fanatics” are not accommodated in their extremist demand that when it comes to Irish State-funded publications, the rule is compulsory English for everyone? – Is mise,

PÁID Ó DONNCHÚ,
Na Forbacha,
Co na Gaillimhe. 12/7/2011




This letter appeared in the Irish Independent:

The exclusion of a language from public life is a tried and tested method of hastening that language's demise. Practical steps toward official bilingualism in Canada and Wales in order to encourage the use of French and Welsh respectively have borne fruit. Because Irish has had a low social status for centuries, bilingual signs and announcements annoy people like Stephen Lane (Letters, Irish Independent, July 9), who feel uncomfortable seeing or hearing Irish.

For people who speak Irish habitually or at home (fanatics, as Mr Doody calls us) public bilingualism assures us that we are an accepted part of this society. Diversity and tolerance for our linguist minority can also benefit the Anglophone majority by opening up to them the primary language spoken in Ireland for most of its history and which gives every hill and stream here its name.

DáithíMac CArthaigh, BL
An Leabharlann Dlí,
Na Ceithre Cúirteanna,
Baile Átha Cliath 7 12/7/2011

These in the Irish Times

A chara,

I read Dermot Doody’s letter (July 11th) regarding Irish translation “extravagance” and I was not at all surprised that he listed misconception after blatant misconception to support absolute wanton flouting of the law.

I am a professional Irish translator who on an average day will translate anything from a simple two-word sign to a full-blown annual report or policy document. I receive some of this work from public bodies, which are required under the Official Languages Act to offer documents bilingually, and some from private companies who see the obvious advantage of serving customers in whichever language they personally prefer.

I found the HSE swine flu sign in question on its website and analysed it as I would any document I receive for translation – it was 62 words in length. This would have cost the HSE about €8 (probably less) in total to translate. Mr Doody’s nonsensical apprehension that this €8 could somehow be turned into “improved conditions for patients” is beyond my comprehension. Even the overall annual cost of translation for the HSE would pale in comparison to any of the various and often reported inefficiencies of the HSE.

According to Census 2006, Irish speakers number about 400,000 people in the Republic of Ireland alone (even excluding people who state they have it but never speak it, and those who speak it only within the education system). I am constantly surprised by people like Mr Doody who would consider any one of these number who wishes to carry out business with the State through the first language of the State on the most basic of levels as a “fanatic”.

Perhaps Mr Doody would be correct to brand me an Irish language fanatic if I were to write in to The Irish Times and advocate the removal of all English from signs around the country or the publication of official documents in Irish only. But what would that make him? An English language fanatic?

Is mise,
JAMES PELOW
Snasta Translation Solutions,
Bóthar Ghort na Mara,
Cill Iníon Léinín,
Co Átha Cliath. (13/7/2011)

Sir,

I take exception to Páid O’Donnchú’s reference (July 12th) to “fanatics” and “extremist” to refer to those who despair at the waste involved in producing official documents in both English and Irish.
There is nothing radical in wishing to see public money saved by the simple expedience of using half as much ink and, in many cases, half as much paper, not to mention the savings that can be made in postage costs.

On the other hand it is definitely extreme to insist that the vast majority of citizens receive documentation and correspondence half of which is in a language that they do not understand, just to appease the minority who, while understanding the main language of this State fluently, have a desire to be mollycoddled by instantly seeing the same message in their language of choice.

This is not to say that anyone wishing to receive correspondence in Irish hasn’t got a perfect right to do so, but they can surely be provided with cost-effective ways of indicating their preference rather than imposing unnecessary waste on taxpayers as a whole.

Yours, etc,

PAUL CARROLL,
The Cloisters,
Clane, Co Kildare. (13/7/2011)


And this in the Irish Independent!


Fanatical Gaeilgeoirs killed love of language

I doubt that the man in the street gives much thought to bilingualism, or multilingualism for that matter (Letters, Irish Independent, July 12). After all, there is far more Polish spoken in this country than Irish these days.

What singles Irish out for harsh criticism is the manner in which it is foisted upon the public by a state quango which appears to have powers well beyond its original remit.

It is precisely this do-as-we-say, Stasi-like compulsion, at the behest of fanatical Gaeilgeoirs, which choked off a love of the language in the first place.

It didn't work then and it won't wash now. We are a wholly English-speaking nation and will continue to communicate in an ever-evolving English language.

It is simply the way of the world and it has been this way throughout history.

Niall Ginty
Killester,
Dublin 5 (13/7/2011)

The assertion that "We are a wholly English-speaking nation and will continue to communicate in an ever-evolving English language", made by your correspondent, Niall Ginty (Letters, July 13), came as some surprise to the people of my district who have been communicating, playing games, sitting on committees, rearing families, praying and working in Irish for as long as anyone can remember and for over a thousand years prior to that.

The only linguistic compulsion they feel is the fact that the State, local authority and state-funded organisations (like the HSE) mostly insist on using English.

They know that the Comisineir (sic) Teanga was right when he said "Irish will not remain as a living, community language in Gaeltacht areas if the State continues to compel Gaeltacht communities to use English in their official dealings."

Where is the "Stasi-like compulsion?"

Eoin O(sic) Riain
Baile na hAbhann, Co na Gaillimhe (14/7/2011)

Review of the Official Languages Act

 Irish version

A commentary on the practical application and operation of provisions of the Official Languages Act 2003 has been published by the Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga in anticipation of a review of that legislation to be undertaken as part of the programme for Government. The Act’s provisions came into effect fully five years ago.

Seán Ó Cuireáin

An Coimisinéir Teanga, Seán Ó Cuirreáin, said he hoped that the outcome of the review will be an Act fit for purpose which serves the wishes of the Irish language community in an appropriate manner and ensures that meaning is given to the constitutional provision that Irish is the first official language as it is the national language.

Seán Ó Cuirreáin was speaking at the launch of his commentary report in An Spidéal, Co. Galway today (July 5th 2011).

Amendments to the legislation suggested by An Coimisinéir Teanga’s Office include the recommendation that public bodies be classified into different catagories (A, B, C, etc.) in accordance with their range of functions and their level of interaction with the public in general, including the Irish language and Gaeltacht communities, and that the level of service through Irish to be provided by public bodies should depend on that classification.

It also recommends that public bodies be obliged by statute to provide their services through Irish in Gaeltacht regions and that such services should be of a standard equal to those provided elsewhere through English.

A renewed effort to ensure the proper implementation of the Act’s language schemes system on a strategic and consistent basis is also recommended or, as a possible alternative, that a new “standards” system based on statutory regulations be developed, as is planned for the Welsh language in Wales. With regard to official publications provided through the Irish language, An Coimisinéir Teanga’s Office recommends that priority be given to those publications for which there is the greatest demand from the public, the Irish speaking and Gaeltacht communities included.

The report also calls for the lack of staff in the public sector competent in the two official languages of the State to be addressed whenever the current recruitment embargo is relaxed. An Coimisinéir Teanga describes this problem as the “the most fundamental difficulty with the provision of state services through Irish”. The report also suggests that statutory provision be made to ensure that members of the public have the right to use their names and addresses in their choice of official language when dealing with public bodies.

“No additional spending should result from these recommendations and if expenditure is not reduced then, at the very least, the amendments should be cost neutral” said Mr Ó Cuirreáin.

An Coimisinéir Teanga also announced that he had in recent days placed two special reports before the Houses of the Oireachtas detailing cases where public bodies had been found in breach of statutory language provisions but had failed to implement recommendations to ensure compliance. The organisations involved, the Health Service Executive and the National Museum of Ireland, had not opted to appeal to the High Court the findings that they were in breach of legislation but had nevertheless not implemented his recommendations. “It falls to the Houses of the Oireachtas now to take whatever additional measures they deem appropriate” he said.

The review  and the two depositions laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas may be downloaded from this page on the Commissioner's website.