A sensible and practical decision!

The Government has relented on its sudden decision of two years ago to merge the Office of the Coimisinéir Teanga and the the Office of the Ombudsman. "Following further consideration of the proposed amalgamation of the Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga with the Office of the Ombudsman, and having regard to the results of the public consultation process which indicated strong support for maintaining the Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga as a fully independent entity, the Government has decided not to proceed with the proposed amalgamation." (Statement from Minister of State Dinny McGinley 4/4/2014)

An Coimisinéir Teanga with the President!

The relief that this decision has engendered among the Gaeltacht and Irish speaking communities up and down the country is almost palpable. It is however interesting that the minister uses the phrase "fully independent entity" since he had always been at pains to state that the merge would not have effected this independence! Nonetheless the decision is to be welcomed!

Many commentators have also stated that although this may be regarded as such it is in reality hardly a victory since it merely restates the position of the Office as it was before the merge idea was launched!

An Coimisinéir Teanga, Rónán Ó Domhnaill, has welcomed the Government decision to reverse the plan to merge the Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga with the Office of the Ombudsman.

He said that it was a sensible and practical decision not to merge the two offices, commenting, "I welcome today's announcement. The Government decision protects the independence of the Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga and it puts an end to any uncertainty regarding the status of the Office in the future."

The most recent step in the amendment of the Official Languages Act 2003, i.e. the publication of the heads of bill, has also been noted by An Coimisinéir Teanga. An opportunity exists as the Bill is being brought before the Houses of the Oireachtas to take account of the commentary on the implementation of the Act issued by the Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga and to give due regard to the recommendations made in that report.

Mr Ó Domhnaill also said “There is an opportunity with this new Bill to strengthen language rights for Irish speakers both inside and outside the Gaeltacht. I believe that the best way this can be done is by implementing the recommendations of the Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga, which are based on 10 years of experience.”

An Coimisinéir Teanga looks forward to discussing the proposed legislation with the Department of Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht.

The Secratary of Conradh na Gaeilge, Julian de Spáinn, welcomed the decision not to merge the two offices. He reflected the general consensus (as voiced by the Coimisinéir Teanga) to ensure "that the focus now should be on strengthening the Official Languages Act to ensure adequate services for the Irish-speaking community”.

Minster plays fast and loose with the strategy!

It is such a pity that the Irish Times's Miriam Lord is ignorant of the National Language otherwise we might have had an entertaining not to say incisive account of the happenings in Áras an Uachtarán and two oireachtas committees during the week ending 7th March 2014.

On Wednesday two of these happenings occurred.

Thank you!
A delightful reception, hosted by the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, in honour of the resigning Language Commissioner, Seán Ó Cuirreáin, who had announced a short three months prior to that that he felt he had no option but to resign rather than collude in the pretense of the policy of the Government and Civil Administration.

The President gave a remarkable address (which contrasted markably from any understandable remarks from any Govenment minister) which supported the stand of Seán Ó Cuirreáin. He remarked that he had known Mr Ó Cuirreáin for many years and that he was among the most courteous of men he had ever known. "I would like to pay tribute this evening to Seán’s honesty, his intellectual integrity and to his steadfastness."

Echoing comments made by Seán Ó Cuirreáin to two Oireachtas Committees he said:  “Irish should never be seen as a thorn in the side of the administrative system."

He went on even more strongly “As President of Ireland, I wish to state that, not only am I dismayed, but that I am greatly concerned at the apparent low level of ability to fulfil the rights of citizens who wish to interact through Irish with the State and its agencies."

His address is so strong that at least one commentator wondered if he had crossed a constitutional border in expressing a view so at variance with the perceived policy of the Government. His address (in Irish) may be found here on the website of the President of Ireland.

Machiavellian obfuscation

In stark contrast to events in Áras an Uachtaráin the meeting in Committee Room 4 of the Oireachtas was more like a painful session at the dentist, of pulling obstinate teeth. In the first of two confrontations the Minister of State for the Gaeltacht displayed what might be described either complimentarily as a Machiavellian deviousness, not seen since the hay-day of the Grandfather of the Deputy from West Galway, or less admirably an exercise in lamentable, obdurate obfuscation. The Minster seemed unable to reply to a simple question with a simple answer. Indeed on more than one occasion we were entertained to a trip down memory lane and his own participation in various campaigns in his youth.

He was keen to point out that he was busy making a major contribution to the increased use of Irish in the civil service not seen for forty years. (He did not, nor did any one else, refer to the fact that the ills which caused up to 10,000 to march in Dublin, and 1000 in Conamara last month were in fact the direct result of a decision by a Fine Gael Minister of Finance in 1974!)

When people tried to pin him down on any particular problem raised by the Commissioner he maintained that he himself had no responsibility except for his own Department.

Mr Michael Kitt said the number of complaints to the Irish language commissioner was increasing, the complaints coming from across the State with 26% were from within the Gaeltacht.

The Minister told him it was “a good thing that complaints are coming in from the public because it shows the demand for Irish speakers”. However he did not say how these complaints could be satisfied.

The amalgamation of the Commisioner's office with that of the Ombudsman would mean that his Department would no longer be responsible for these reports but they would pass to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

When rights are not rights!
When asked whether language rights were human rights he seemed to maintain that these rights depended on the availability of funds. I suppose we could quote, mutas mutandis the author of Animal Farm, "Some rights are more equal than others!"

In the Dáil the following morning the claim was made, and not denied, that the rate of approval of Language Schemes, (Legally binding schemes submitted by Departments and public bodies advising what they were doing to implement Irish Language policy), would mean that twenty eight years would have come and gone before every body had submitted schemes.

On Thursday a second Oireachtas Committee had summoned the Minister. In fact only the Chairman, Sen Labhrás Ó Murchú, of this committee bothered to turn up though other Deptuties and Senators did. The members who missed the show - er sorry session - were An Teachta Micheál Mac Carthaigh, An Teachta Caoimhín Mac Unfraidh, An Teachta Peadar Tóibín, An Seanadóir Fiach Mac Conghaíl and An Seanadóir Cáit Uí Chátháin.

This was a meeting to examine progress on the famous 20 year Strategy about which the resigning Commissioner said, "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." The committee was a lesson in how to demolish a witness as Éamon Ó Cuív and Trevor Ó Clochartaigh with little assistance from Senator Briain Ó Domhnaill, examined how the 20 Year Strategy was not been implemented at all either in and how the government in effect has altered the all-party agreed document.

Government alters strategy without telling anyone!
The Minister of State again re-iterated that he had enough to be doing looking after his own Department than to be looking after what other Departments were doing. This outlook was in direct contrast to the impression that the questionnaires understanding of the Minister's responsibility with regard to the Strategy. Indeed even in his own Department, a Strategic Unit as mentioned in the Strategy, is not in place - a deep cause for concern for those in attendance. This was in direct contravention of the strategy "Planning and implementation of the Strategy will be directed from a Strategy Unit within that Department (of the Gaeltacht), with dedicated staff and the function of assigning duties and implementation roles to implementation agencies, as necessary."

Particular attention was drawn to the fact that there was no senior minister with responsibility as required by the document, "..a senior Minister and a Government Department (the Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs) with central responsibility for Irish language affairs.)" 

By the time the meeting ended there was nothing said that belied the feeling that the Government’s treatment of the Irish language was a deep deep cause for concern for all those who questioned the Minister.

A report on this meeting in the Irish Times: Leaked document shows reversal of Irish language obligations. (6/3/2014)

Answers from the minister?

Minister of State for the Gaeltacht, Dinny McGinley T.D., is to appear before two Oireachtas committees this week.

It was at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions last December that Seán Ó Cuirreáin announced his resignation from the role of Coimisinéir Teanga as a result of the lack of Government support for the Irish language. An Coimisinéir Teanga had been before the Committee to discuss his most recent annual report which was the cause of much controversy.

"A maligned ethnic minority!"

It was Ó Cuirreáin’s announcement of his resignation, the first by an European Ombudsman on a matter of principle which, although hardly reported by the English language media, created ripples in the Irish speaking communities which haven't as yet died down. Events like the extraordinary demonstration on the streets of Dublin, described by an Australian participant "As we walked down O’Connell Street the gravity of the situation really hit home. Irish speakers are marching for recognition and rights as if they are a maligned ethnic minority or indeed an oppressed indigenous people. It seems for many people that is what Irish speakers represent." Or the altogether more intimate gathering outside his office in the Conamara Gaeltacht when about a thousand people said good bye and thank you to him as he left office. Further events are planned in other centres.

Fudge, Farce, Falsehood!
Here are the words he spoke (in translation) to the committee concerning the renewal of the Acht Teanga - which has apparently been in course of preparation for nigh on two years:

"If...the use of Irish in dealing with Gaeltacht communities and ensuring an adequate Irish language capacity in public administration – are not addressed by the State when the legislation is being amended, I fear that the exercise will be seen as a fudge, a farce or a falsehood.

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." (This full address may be found here 4/12/2013)

The implications of Ó Cuirreáin’s resignation and the findings detailed in the 2012 report remain controversial topics and many concerns have been raised since the fallout began in December. The Joint Committee will meet again this Wednesday, 5 March, at 4pm to discuss many of the issues raised following Ó Cuirreáin’s announcement and to put those issues to Minister of State, Dinny McGinley T.D. No one in the government has addressed his points other than the Minister for Education who stated flatly that the Government rejected them, though that attitude appears to have softened somewhat in remarks from Minister McGinley though without much definition.

Participate in a pretence!
A meeting of the Oireachtas Sub-Committee on the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language and Related Matters will also discuss the issues raised by Seán Ó Cuirreáin at a meeting on Thursday, 6 March, at 2.15pm. In his last address to the Sub-Committee in January, Seán Ó Cuirreáin detailed the marginalisation of the Irish language by state authorities and the implications for the Irish-speaking community as a result of this negative stance. This meeting crystalised the reasons why he considered he had little choice but to submit his resignation to the President.

"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." (This full address is available here! 23/1/2014)

Those implications will take centre stage at a meeting of the Oireachtas sub-committee on Thursday, 6 March, at 2.15pm, at which the Minister of State will also be in attendance.
It is thought that the Minister address these issues during the meeting  particularly:

• The status of the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language
• The inauguration of Rónán Ó Domhnaill as An Coimisinéir Teanga and the status of his Office - it is now almost two weeks since his nomination was approved by both houses.
• Addressing the issues and ‘pretence’ raised by Seán Ó Cuirreáin
• Irish within the state service and Government action to tackle inadequacy
• The Heads of Bill regarding the Official Languages Act 2003

It is hoped that concerns raised by both Committees will be listened to by the Minister of State the meetings will be seen as an opportunity for the Minister of State to take recommendations on board.

Waiting for eggs for omelettes since 1892!

"Fudge, farce, falshood!" Editorial Irish Times 9/12/2013
What’s the future for the Irish language and do politicians want to preserve it? (Seán Mag Leannáin, The Journal.ie, 12/12/2013)
This Government has failed the Irish language! (Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge, 12/12/2013)
Not Minding Our Language (An Spailpín Fánach, 20/12/2013)

"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."

Less than a month ago this blog expressed its disillusionment‎ with the failures and indeed inimical policies towards what Bunracht na hÉireann calls the national language in an article entitled "Now we know the state of play!" It referred to various failures stemming back to at least 1928 and possibly before then. One of the points made is one made as far back as 25th February 1892 by a man who became the first president of Ireland, who stated in his address, The Necessity for De-Anglicising Ireland,  "..that Irish-speaking schoolmasters, petty sessions clerks, and even magistrates be appointed in Irish-speaking districts."  

Seán Ó Cuirreáin

When that item was written it was hardly thought that the devastating decision announced yesterday would or could happen. Seán Ó Cuirreáin, an upright, honest, thorough, capable, independent and courteous ombudsman would find it necessary to resign in order to draw attention to the situation. "Never before have I seen in over 30 years’ experience - as a journalist or language commissioner - morale and confidence so low. Despite the enormous goodwill of the vast majority of the people of this country, the language continues to drift further to the margins of society including within much of the public sector; bringing it back to the mainstream is no simple procedure.....I fear that the exercise (Government's intentions in a long delayed new Language Act) will be seen as a fudge, a farce or a falsehood."

He is the first Ombudsman to resign on a matter of principle in Ireland, and maybe in Europe, since the foundation of the state.

The last straw?
It is thought that the last stray that led Seán Ó Cuirreáin to this uncharacteristic action was the decision not only not to action his uncontested judgement on the system of recruitment in the Civil Service but to replace it with an inferior system.  "The old system – of bonus marks – failed because it was never properly implemented. I firmly believe that the new system, which I consider to be ill-conceived, will also fail and that consequently the Irish language will be continue to be marginalised in public administration. For example, research we have to hand using official figures from the Department of Education and Skills suggests that if the new system were to be fully implemented in the most positive way, it would take in the region of 28 years to raise the current level of fluency in Irish in that department from 1½% to 3%."

Pic: The Guardian

The fact that the State does not, by and large, use Irish in dealing with Gaeltacht communities or ensure an adequate Irish language capacity in public administration is a source of anguish to him. With a policy that will ensure such a slight increase in 28 years how can the vision of Douglas Hyde be met, "Irish-speaking schoolmasters, petty sessions clerks, magistrates..." The Coimisinéir himself responded to a query from one of the public representatives by quoting Chelsea's Jose Mourinho's famous comment -  "No eggs, no omelette!"

Ironies
There were several ironies marking this momentous decision. Firstly the session of the Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions was held in the only Committee room with simultaneous translation facilities. This system failed which led to suspensions and delays as the chairman of the Committee appeared not be able to conduct business in Irish. Public representatives appeared not to be fully aware of the brief quoting many of the myths in the public mind including the cost factor. The Fine Gael member, Charlie Flanagan TD, in particular displayed appalling ignorance not only of the law but also of the responsibilities of the Coimisinéir Teanga. Nevertheless the Coimisinéir patiently responded to all questions with courtesy. For this writer also it was the first time he had heard the Fianna Fáil Gaeltacht representative, Michael Kitt TD speak on his brief.

English only!
His statement on this resignation was published on-line in English only which is strange considering his position and the subject matter. The Minister of State at the Department of the Gaeltacht, Dinny McGinley, also issued a statement which was only on-line in English until early afternoon when an Irish version was published after a query was made! (All releases made by the political parties were only available on line in English - with the honourable exception of that by Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh who routinely and uniquely produces release in both Irish and English - which speaks volumes for the integrity of the support of the  body politic as a whole!)

Translation of remarks made by the President of Ireland at a Reception to honour the Resigning Coimisinéir Teanga: "...one of the most courteous people I have ever met..." (5/3/2014)

Education Minister Ruairí Quinn told the Dáil yesterday - in English as incredibly the Minister in charge of that Department is unable to speak or understand the National Language - that he had been assured by his colleague Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs Dinny McGinley “who has direct responsibility in this area that these criticisms by the commissioner are not accepted and that in due course, when his resignation takes effect, a new commissioner will be appointed.” Presumably he thinks the Coimisinéir is deluded and imagining things or maybe his reports and findings are the "exercise in cynicism and deception" that the Coimisinéir has felt might be a judgement of an observer on the non-activity of governments since 1928. (Speech in Irish 9/3/2013)

Actual facts!
Two facts can be asserted with certainty.  No expert, recognised or otherwise, in language planning has been produced to uphold the policy of this Government in the matter. The entire Irish language community has no confidence in this Government or in this Minister.

They agree without exception with the statement of the Coimisinéir:

No cogent or rational argument contrary to this statement has been made other than "these criticisms by the commissioner are not accepted!"

A translation of the Coimisinéir's statement to the Committee is below: (The original as delivered is here!)

Chairman, I would like to thank the Joint Committee for your invitation to appear before you today. My Office was established by legislation nearly 10 years ago with three distinct statutory functions: to provide an ombudsman service; to act as compliance agency in relation to state services through Irish; and to provide advice on language rights and obligations. Our Annual Report for 2012 was provided to the Minister for State for the Gaeltacht for laying before both Houses of the Oireachtas on 31st January 2013 and subsequently published on 12th March last. In general, 2012 was not a vintage year for the promotion of the Irish language in the public sector, and for every one step forward there appeared to have been two steps backwards. Ombudsman role In relation to our role as an ombudsman service, we dealt last year with 756 cases of difficulties or problems with state services through Irish – the largest number of complaints from the public to the Office since its establishment. This represented an increase of 3% on the number of cases in the previous year. The vast majority of cases were resolved by means of informal negotiations with the relevant state bodies or by providing advice to the complainant. A total of 13 formal investigations were commenced during 2012. Findings of breaches of individual elements of language legislation were made against a mix of public bodies including An Garda Síochána and 3 Government Departments. Compliance agency As regards functioning as a compliance agency, it is with regret that I report that three quarters of language schemes ‒ statutory language plans ‒ agreed by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht with various state bodies had expired without renewal by the end of 2012 with a quarter of them out of date for three years or more. In 10 other cases, more than 6 years have elapsed since the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht requested state bodies to prepare draft language schemes but they remain to be agreed. The failure to promote this element of language legislation in a meaningful way has been identified by the independent audit committee in my Office as a significant risk. Such language schemes were to be the fundamental pillars of the legislation on which an increase in quantity and quality of services through Irish were to be based. A dangerous precedent emerged for the first time in 2012 where a language scheme was amended to cancel a previously confirmed statutory obligation which would have cost little and would have been relatively simple to implement. Rather than ensuring the implementation of the fairly innocuous obligation – that the “Fit for viewing” section of video/ DVD labels supplied by the Irish Film Classification Office be produced in bilingual format – a complaint from a member of the public prompted the eventual cancellation of the statutory commitment when the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht acceded to a request from the Department of Justice and Equality to have the commitment deleted from the scheme. Current year The current year has seen a limited increase in the quantity of language schemes – 15 have been confirmed to date, yet 20 have expired in the same timeframe – but I am more concerned by the quality of some of those schemes. In too many instances the provision of services through Irish is conditional on “available resources”, which suggests that such services may be perceived as optional extras rather than fundamental rights. In one such scheme, commitment to the provision of services through Irish, detailed over 3 pages, has the condition ‘subject to available resources’ listed 11 times. In another scheme, a commitment to issue Irish versions of a limited category of press releases has the footnote that this will not require the Irish and English versions to be issued simultaneously: putting such a commitment on a statutory basis is an affront to the intelligence of any journalist working through Irish. Would it not be an unfortunate and cynical practice if confirming language schemes were to become a box-ticking exercise rather than an effective mechanism for developing state services through Irish? I have been told by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht that it is to redouble its efforts in relation to language schemes but I am concerned that with the damage already caused and the lack of confidence in the system, that it may prove impossible to salvage it now. An Garda Síochána I am glad to report that progress has been made by the management of An Garda Síochána in the provision of Garda services through Irish on foot of a complaint to my Office. A language rights awareness campaign is being promoted by senior management following an investigation into an incident in Dublin where a young man, who attempted to conduct his business through Irish when stopped by Gardaí in relation to a minor road traffic matter, found himself arrested and escorted in handcuffs to a Garda station where he was detained until a Garda was found who could deal with him through Irish. An Garda Síochána had failed in this instance to comply with a statutory commitment which recognises the right of the public to conduct business with the force in either official language, Irish or English. In dealing with this case I noted an attitude, notwithstanding the constitutional status of Irish, that Irish speakers should be dealt with as if they were speakers of a foreign language. The discourse with Garda members involved in the incident placed “using Irish” and “dealing with foreign nationals” in the same space which might give rise to concern about how both groups were perceived. The person detained in the case was not involved in an accident nor were there any allegations made concerning speeding or driving under the influence of alcohol. I was struck by the fact that Gardaí who had received their education within this country’s schools system and had finished their training in Templemore some short years previously had insufficient command of Irish to ask a driver when stopped at the roadside “Cad is ainm duit?” or to seek his address through Irish. No adequate support system was in place to facilitate their interaction with a member of the public who sought in this situation to conduct his business through Irish. However, I welcome the positive attitude of the Garda Commissioner and senior management to the implementation of the recommendations I made on foot of this case and hope that the systematic change being introduced will prevent the occurrence of similar incidents. An obligation confirmed in the Garda Síochána Act 2005 that only members fluent in Irish should be stationed in Gaeltacht areas is also receiving more focussed attention from Garda management following a complaint detailed in a previous report about the absence of Gardaí with Irish in Gaoth Dobhair, a heartland of the Donegal Gaeltacht. While the matter is not yet fully resolved, I am glad to report that the Garda Commissioner has now confirmed that, in order to facilitate compliance with the requirement of the Garda Síochána Act, future recruitment to the organisation will see a percentage (up to 10%) of places reserved specifically for Irish speakers who will subsequently be attached to Gaeltacht stations for a period of up to 5 years. This should ensure in a number of years that 100% of Gaeltacht Gardaí are fluent Irish speakers. Competence in Irish In general, the absence of staff with competence in both official languages of the State remains one of the main factors restricting state bodies in their delivery of services to the public in Irish as well as in English. The system of awarding bonus marks for competence in both Irish and English at recruitment and promotional competitions in the Civil Service which replaced ‘compulsory Irish’ in 1975 is currently being replaced by a new system on a pilot basis. The old system – of bonus marks – failed because it was never properly implemented. I firmly believe that the new system, which I consider to be ill-conceived, will also fail and that consequently the Irish language will be continue to be marginalised in public administration. For example, research we have to hand using official figures from the Department of Education and Skills suggests that if the new system were to be fully implemented in the most positive way, it would take in the region of 28 years to raise the current level of fluency in Irish in that department from 1½% to 3%. I would appeal today to the authorities to revisit the proposed system in a meaningful way when the Official Languages Act is being reviewed and amended. Gaeltacht I have also suggested that in amending the Act a clear provision should be added requiring the staff members of all state agencies assigned to providing services to Gaeltacht communities to be fluent in Irish without terms or conditions applying. Research by my Office recently revealed that such a statutory provision was in fact enacted in 1928 but its introduction was regularly postponed by statutory instruments on 54 occasions until it was quietly shelved in 1966. It is time to deal with this issue for once and for all: requiring the people of the Gaeltacht to conduct their business in English with state agencies flies in the face of any policy which suggests that the survival of the Gaeltacht is on the State’s agenda. The idea of continuously ‘kicking the can down the road’ on this matter, as has been the norm for decades, is no longer an option. Reports to both Houses In common with other ombudsman services, I am empowered to make findings and recommendations following an investigation. Such findings may be appealed to the High Court on a point of law. However, if findings or recommendations are not appealed but are nevertheless not implemented, I am required to report such failure to the Houses of the Oireachtas. I have done this on 3 occasions in the past and I thank this Joint Committee for the follow-up work it has undertaken with the state bodies involved. I regret to say that I have recently laid 3 further reports before both Houses in cases where the state bodies in question did not appeal my findings to the High Court but subsequently failed to implement the findings. The organisations involved are Iarnród Éireann, Westmeath County Council and the Office of Public Works. It falls to the House of the Oireachtas to take whatever action they deem appropriate, should they wish, in these cases. Review While a review of the Official Languages Act was announced in November 2011 – more than two years ago – and a substantial public consultation process ensued which ended in January 2012, little or nothing has been heard publicly of the results of that process since then. This vacuum simply has not been helpful. A Government decision was made in November 2011 to merge the functions of my Office with the Office of the Ombudsman as part of the Public Service Reform Plan. This decision was made without reference to me or to the then Ombudsman. No details are available publicly of the proposed arrangement or how it is thought it ought to work and I would be concerned about the future viability of the Office itself, including the implications for its staffing. The Office is one of the smallest agencies of the State – with a budget smaller even than the Irish secret service! We have a current staff level of 4.4 civil servants. We have 3 unfilled vacancies at present and our budget has shrunk by 45% since 2008. The Office was never given adequate resources to fully perform its statutory obligations in a satisfactory manner. Conclusion For those generally involved with the protection or promotion of the Irish language, either professionally or voluntarily, we are in a time of great uncertainty. Never before have I seen in over 30 years’ experience - as a journalist or language commissioner - morale and confidence so low. Despite the enormous goodwill of the vast majority of the people of this country, the language continues to drift further to the margins of society including within much of the public sector; bringing it back to the mainstream is no simple procedure. An essential first step would require that in amending the Official Languages Act as part of the programme for Government, that a clear provision be made to ensure that state employees serving the Gaeltacht communities are Irish speaking without question or conditions – forcing native Irish speakers to use English in dealing with the agencies of the State must not be allowed to continue. And in parallel, it is essential that the issue of the Irish language in recruitment and promotion in the Civil and Public Service in general be revisited immediately – there is absolutely no way that the most recent proposal in relation to the Civil Service will work. If those two elements – the use of Irish in dealing with Gaeltacht communities and ensuring an adequate Irish language capacity in public administration – are not addressed by the State when the legislation is being amended, I fear that the exercise will be seen as a fudge, a farce or a falsehood. 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. By the end of February next I will have held the position of Coimisinéir Teanga for 10 years. Although my term of office runs for a further 2 years my heartfelt belief is, in view of the information I have presented to you today, that there is little else I can personally achieve in that timeframe in relation to language rights for Irish speakers and Gaeltacht communities. It is therefore with regret that I announce that I have decided to resign from my position as Coimisinéir Teanga on 23rd February next. I have informed the President of Ireland of this decision today as required by legislation. I would like at this stage to thank everyone who has helped me during the years in which I have held this position – in particular the small, dedicated team of staff in my Office. I thank all of those in politics and in the state sector in general who supported our work. I appreciate the support we received from the media, particularly from Irish language journalists, from Gaeltacht and Irish language organisations, from academia, from those who provided advice either professionally or voluntarily, from other language commissioners throughout the world, from civil and public servants, friends and many other who have helped in so many ways. But above all, I wish to express my sincere thanks to the people of the Gaeltacht and to Irish speakers in general for the confidence they placed in me and in my office’s staff over the past 10 years. I thank you, a Chathaoirligh, and the members of the Joint Committee for your attention today. Go raibh míle maith agaibh.

Another Garda failure As we published this, news came in of another incident where a person was refused service in Irish by the Garda Síochána. A report has just been published by the Irish news service An Tuairisceoir on a case before a Dublin court yesterday (5/12/2013)

The right thing to do!

Last May an important and indeed unique international gathering took place in Dublin which appears, as far as I can see, to have been completely ignored by the English Language media in Ireland, with the possible exception of RTÉ's on-line news service (surprisingly monolingual for the  "national" broadcaster.) With the withdrawal of funds at short notice to the newspaper and internet news service, Gaelscéal, the Irish language print media has been effectively emasculated!

This was a the first gathering of the world's language commissioners, The International Conference of Language Rights.   The daddy of them all is Canada's Graham Fraser, who occupies the pioneering office of Commissioner of Official Languages, the first such office in the world. The event was organised by our own Commissioner of 10 years, Seán Ó Cuirreáin.

Seán Ó Cuirreáin, (partly hidden) introduces the President to the recently appointed Sandra Inutiq, Nunavut Commissioner.

The event was opened at Áras an Uachtarán by President Michael D Higgins himself. In a strong twenty minute extempore address the President said that rights are denied when people are discouraged from speaking a language or when a language is allowed to become subordinate in usage.

The speechs and presentations by representatives of linguistic diversity in areas as distinct as Canada, Kosova, Finnland, Catalonia, the Inuit regions of North America and South Africa who shared their experience were shared with an equally diverse group of international delegates. The sometimes controversial nature of the work of a Language Commissioner was thrown into sharp relief when the contribution of the Catalonian Ombudsman, Rafael Ribo, was flatly contradicted by a representative of the Spanish Embassy.

A comment by Ireland's Commissioner, Seán Ó Cuirreán, in his presentation also was echoed by other presentors.  He described the perception, indeed it appeard to be his own perception too, of the attitude of the Irish state bureaucracy: ""Labhraigí Gaeilge le chéile ach nár labhair linne í! (Speak Irish to each other but don't speak it to us!)" Though the Junior Irish Minister, charged with responsibility in this area, Dinny McGinley, did make an appearence briefly at the meeting, his absence for the bulk of the event perhaps told us more about the attitude of the Government than a thousand words.

A very full and accurate report on the event has been published, International Conference on Language Rights, Dublin, May 24, 2013, by the distinguished Swiss based cosmopolitan, Daphne Romy-Masliah, writer and commentator on Multiculturalism, Plurilingualism and waht she calls Cosmopolitanism. The presentations themselves may be found here on the Comisnéir Teanga's website. The talks are in the language used by the speaker. The official languages of the conference were Irish & English and a translation service was provided.


A striking sentence made during the day strongly echoed those of the President. "We are talking not only about rights here but about the right thing to do!"

The dictatorship of fear!

"Guth na Gaeltachta curtha ina thost!" (Guth na Gaeltachta silenced!)

This is yesterday's headline in this week's Gaelscéal, one of the Irish newspapers published each week. It indicates that members of Guth na Gaeltachta, the Donegal Gaeltacht based organisation set up in alarm at the direction of State policy towards our language was taking following the publication of the report of An Bórd Snip Nua, were now fearful of speaking publicly because of the threatening attitude being adopted by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

This stems particularly from the letter sent, in English, to one of the members, employed by the Department, not in the Gaeltacht section but in the Heritage section, as a gardener, advising him that his terms of employment could be compromised if he continued speaking against Government policy on the Gaeltacht, that they could be construed as breaking the terms of his employment. We mentioned this in a blog, Bullying from Govenment, in July 2012.

Naturally Guth na Gaeltachta spoke out against this threat at the time. The Junior Minister, to whom responsibility for the Gaeltacht has been devolved, Dinny McGinley, stated that he had no responsibility over civil service procedures!  It appears that the Civil Service operates without impunity. (In a case brought eventually to the Oireachtas by the Comisinéir Teanga the Civil Service "defended" its position on incorrectly implementing its own policy for recruitment. "This is the way we've always done it, therefore it is the correct way!" Sir Humphery could not have said it better!)  Since that time Guth na Gaeltachta has been remarkably silent and normally vociferous spokespeople, not all of whom are Department employees, are unwilling to make any comments, good bad on indifferent, "on advice."

One wonders where this will stop. I have come across one old-age-pensioner who is now afraid to voice his opinion on the Language he has loved and  for which he has fought all his life, because he now depends on a state pension and is afraid he will loose it. What about employees of the Department of Education or third level institution who owe their funding to the state? On the radio last evening it emerged that language planning experts in Galway University had been moved "sideways" from the Language Planning Department. This is the Department which will be in greater demand by Gaeltacht parishes if the policy forced through the Oireachtas by this government last year is to be implemented!

This attitude falls in with the dictatorial way in which this Fine Gael/Labour Government is ramming through policy, much of it not really thought through, and instilling fear on one sort or another not only into the Gaeltacht people, but also people in other areas , especially rural people. One merely has to mention the fear gripping so many people with the closure today of one hundred rural Garda stations - eight in the Donegal Gaeltacht. Or the threatening behaviour of the Minister of the Environment Phil Hogan on the issues of so-called "Household Tax" and rural effluent treatment. How he has cut-back funding to local authorities because he says that people in their area had not paid this charge, the collection of which was in fact not the responsibility of the local authority!  Look at the enforced mergings of the National Library and National Archives; National Museum and National Gallery; Comisinéir Teanga and Ombudsman; the the ramming through of the Gaeltacht Bill which removes the democratic authenticity of Údarás na Gaeltachta are all indications of a dictatorial bureaucracy. It is interesting in this context to look at what our present President Michael D Higgins has said on "institutional inadequacy,"(The President, the bureaucracy and the language! 5/11/2012)

 Yesterday a person came to my door by mistake looking for an elderly neighbour. He was from an organisation which provides alarms specifically for the elderly living alone and afraid of incursions by person or persons unknown. An indication of the fear gripping rural Ireland?

The exclusive story in Gaelscéal (Irish)

Martin Niemöller, was a Luthern Theologian in Germany during the war. This is somethig he said which has perhaps some little relevence here.

First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.

Then they came for the socialists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for me,
and there was no one left to speak for me.

Have they come for Guth na Gaeltachta?

Comprehensive consultation?

Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh has called on the Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs to clarify as to the future of the Language Commissioner. 

Leagan Gaeilge

The Sinn Féin spokesperson on Irish language and Gaeltacht Affairs was responding to a statement issued by Minister Dinny McGinley TD yesterday, indicating the Government's intention to subsume An Coimisinéir Teanga into the Office of the Ombudsman. According to Senator Ó Clochartaigh, the statement has added to the uncertainty of the future of the role and that there is little benefit to the State apparent from the move. 

“It was clear from the start that the Department had not put adequate thought or consideration in to the proposal to merge the two offices. There has been no evidence put forward for any potential financial savings, nor much detail as to how such a merger would work practically." 

  

"In a statement by line Minister, Jimmy Deenihan, he also said that a comprehensive consultation into the matter had been undertaken. However, that didn't appear to have included possibly the two most important players - namely the Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly & the Language Commissioner, Seán Ó Cuirreáin. When I spoke to them both a little over two weeks ago they had not been consulted and I doubt a comprehensive consultation ensued with them since." 

"We are no wiser on this subject after the Minister’s statement on the matter yesterday. He should clarify whether the Coimisinéir Teanga will still be independent of the Ombudsman, or if the Ombudsman's Office will have have control over how the Coimisinéir Teanga fulfils his or her functions. Will he for example, still be able to investigate the Ombudsmans Office itself in relation to breaches of the Official Languages Act, as he has had to do in the past." 

"It is unclear also as to what this will mean for the remainder of the staff in the Office of the Coimisinéir Teanga. I understand from the statement that the staff will be merged with the Office of the Ombudsman. Does this mean that they will be based in Dublin - and if so, how will they be in a position to provide an effective service to the Coimisinéir Teanga?" 

"The bottom line is that this move does not make economic, or operational sense. The Minister of State and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform are trying to present this as part of a process of reform and improvement in Public Bodies, but this is a pretence. It is only optics on the part of an incompetent Government desperate to give the appearance of making savings. The result will be the undermining of the Official Languages Act and the crucial role that the Language Commissioner plays in its implementation." 

"The Minister should publish the outcomes of his consultation process and detail the savings he thinks he will make. I fear that they do not even understand the implications of the decision they are making, or the damage it will do to the rights of Irish language speakers in the future". 

  

Delegated independance?

Merging Oifig an Choimisineára Teanga with the Office of the Ombudsman is an “effort to deceive the public”.

Leagan Gaeilge

“An effort to deceive the public” is how Director of Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge, Kevin De Barra, has described the statement by Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Dinny McGinley T.D., which outlines reform actions being progressed for An Coimisinéir Teanga.

In a statement issued by the Department of Arts, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht late this afternoon (31 Oct 2012), Minister of State McGinley declared:

“As a result of the Government decision today, a statutorily appointed Coimisinéir Teanga will continue to be based in the Gaeltacht and will continue to independently exercise existing powers under the Official Languages Act 2003”.

In November 2011, the Government agreed a Public Service Reform Plan, presented by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin T.D. Since then, Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge has expressed its concern in the strongest possible manner to Minister Howlin, to Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan T.D., to the Minister of State Dinny McGinley T.D., and to a Joint Oireachtas Committee.

According to today’s statement from the Department of Arts, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht, following a period of assessment, consultation and review, the Government considered the progress made to date and agreed the following range of reform actions to be undertaken in relation to the Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga:

Who's Responsible?

Emily O'Reilly

Seán Ó Cuirreáin

The Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga is to merge with the Office of the Ombudsman.
The statutory powers and functions of An Coimisinéir Teanga under the Official Languages Act 2003 will transfer to the Ombudsman and will be delegated to An Coimisinéir Teanga under the amending legislation.
An Coimisinéir Teanga will continue to be statutorily appointed and exercise independent powers under the Official Languages Act 2003 and will also continue to be based in the Gaeltacht.
Speaking on the reform actions outlined above, Director of Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge has expressed disappointment that appropriate recognition of the importance of the independence of the Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga in undertaking its functions under Part 4, Section 20-30, of The Official Languages Act 2003.

Kevin De Barra said: “The exact details are not clear yet as to how the Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga and the Office of the Ombudsman are to merge, or how this would be managed from a resources point of view. It is difficult to understand why the statutory powers and functions of one office would be transferred to another office only to be delegated back to the original office”.

“The Bord Snip Nua Report declared that there would be no cost savings from merging the Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga with any other state agency. If the Government are claiming that this new move will somehow save money, then I am afraid they are attempting to deceive the public”, said De Barra.

© A Pressrelease by Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge

90% of Gaeltacht schools to close!

Schools with one to four teachers with less than 86 pupils are to be reviewed, according to new guidelines from the Minister for Education, Ruairí Quinn. These schools are being asked to look at their amalgamation options also.

Senator Fidelma Healy Eames is asking questions of the Education Minister: Some small rural schools are being put in immediate jeopardy by staffing cuts (Irish Times 26/1/2011)

There is little if any real indication of any consideration, still less consultation on the part of government of the importance that these small schools in the community or of the standard of education and learning the impart.

"This could mean that up to 90% of Gaeltacht schools could be amalgamated or closed. In the Gaeltacht areas that is 26 schools from 41 in Galway, 21 out of 24 in Mayo, in Donegal 31 from 42, in Waterford 2 from 3, 13 out of 14 in Kerry and three out of six in Cork. That is 96 0ut of 110 Gaeltacht schools in total", according to Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh.

School closed by Government: "Parents are devastated!"

An example of this is the 100 year old school near Loch an Iubhair in the Donegal Gaeltacht despite the fact that the Junior Minister for the Gaeltacht, Dinny McGinley in attending the celebrations at the end of October could see no reason why the school coild not continues its good work for another 100 years. An Irish Times report quotes one of the parents as saying “He was full of praise for the school and spoke very favourably about its ethos and said he hoped it will remain open for another 100 years. And now we are told by the Department of Education that we are to close at the end of this school year.” To add insult to injury the principal of this Gaeltacht school was informed by the Department by letter in English. The school principal according to a local newspaper said: "Parents are devastated! This is a great small school and our ambition was to grow it rather than to close it." This particular school had the eminent writer Seamus Ó Grianna (Máire).

These decisions will alter the delivery of primary education in rural Ireland completely it look as if only facile and possibly pseudo economic criteria are being used rather than the the possible implications this will have on pupils, teachers, the community and on societal and true economic factors.

We have until 31st January 2012

The rain was coming down in sheets last Friday in Galway city. The Pillo Hotel was the venue for a meeting called to discuss the policy - or apparant lack of policy - of the Irish government with regard to the Irish speaking people and the ever-shrinking districts in which Irish is the vernacular language.

Despite the inclement weather more that eighty people gathered to discuss the matter.

So who were they?
The were represented of some of the language movements as one would expect. However it also included representatives of community organisations and co-operatives from Irish speaking areas as well as un-aligned individuals. People came to this meeting from Gaeltacht areas in Ulster, Munster. Leinster and of course Connacht. 

What says the Dictionary! merge [murj] merged, merg·ing. verb (used with object) 1. to cause to combine or coalesce; unite. 2. to combine, blend, or unite gradually so as to blur the individuality or individual identity of: They voted to merge the two branch offices into a single unit.

Why did the gather?
Well the immediate worry of those present was the unexpected and catastrophic decision of the Government on 17th October 2011 as part of Goverenment's Public Service Reform Decision to:
"Merge functions of Language Commissioner with Ombudsman Office. To be progressed in the context of the ongoing review of the Official Languages Act 2003."

The predominent feeling of the meeting was shock, surprise, anger and frustration that a government decision like this was taken without consulation, as far as can be ascertained, with anybody who was directly concerned. The Ombusdman herself or the Coimisinéir Teanga himself were not consulted it was reported. Surprise was also expressed in the fact that this is a decision taken before the Review of the Language Act which was announced by the Junior Minister at the Department of the Gaeltacht a mere fourteen days previously. Nobody present could understand the logic of such a decision. (See also our blog: Developing language policy by hunch! 19/11/2011)

The meeting was chaired by Éamonn Mac Niallas from Guth na Gaeltachta, a recently founded organisation set up to inform  areas which still mantain Irish as the vernacular of the effect of Government thinking and policy on their lives and livelyhoods. Commenting on the decision he said "It is amazing that such a decision has been taken at the very beginning of the implementation of the Government's 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010 - 2030. This decision makes absolutely no sense at all, and the Irish language community will now be very sceptical that this Government in any way serious about strategically planning for the Irish language community. What message does this give the Civil Service, a service Irish speakers have been trying to access their rights from for years now? What this is saying to them is that this independent office is not important and as such, that it is not important to implement the Languages Act."

The Coimisinéir and the Review! "He said that the public were being afforded an historic opportunity between now and 31 January 2012 to put proposals to the Department to ensure the provision of an Act fit for purpose which serves the wishes of the Irish language community in an appropriate manner and which gives meaning to the constitutional provision that Irish is the first official language as it is the national language." 4/12/2011

The Secretary General of Conradh na Gaeilge, Julian de Spáinn, first made a presentation on this and other decisions which affect the operation of the Act and on the previously announced review. When the review was first announced it was welcomed by and large by the Irish language and Gaeltacht community organisations organisations as an wonderful opportunity to improve the language act. It was a chance they thought to revise those parts which were impractical and strengthen those parts which were effective. Later when they saw the survey questionnaire there was some disappointment in how negative it appeared to be. However be that as it may he pointed out that the Department did say that they would welcome additional representations independently of the questionnaire and indeed the Comisinéir himself had submitted a 15 page Commentary on the practical application and operation of provisions of that Act last July (see here!).

The change of the name of Dingle was at the behest of some of the people of the town who felt that visitor to the area were incapable of making the adaption - something that doesn't appear to have occured to those who changed names of the Indian city's of Mumbai (Bombay) or Chennai (Madras) and indeed inexplicably there appeares to have been no movement to change road-signs in Italy to Florence/Firenze

Watering down!
The Language Act has in fact already been altered since its enactment. The first change was in the relatively minor though emotional matter of the name-change of the town of Dingle-Daingin Uí Chúis from the more usual "An Daingin."

The second was a more serious change in that it permitted the enactment of an act of the Oireachtas in one or other of the "national languages," instead of as the act required in both languages. This was a de facto a diminution of the status of the language, something that the Act was supposed to protect. Indeed all political parties in the Dáil and Seanad claim to wish to protect and enhance the status of Irish.

The decision to merge the office of the Coimisinéir Teanga with that of the Ombudsman diminishes that status drastically. When asked to defend this decision the Junior Minister charged with responsibility for the Gaeltacht had several interesting things to say.

Logic? The decision with regard to the Comisinéir Teanga is not the only one in this documnent to defy logic. Fintan O'Toole, the Irish Times columnist with whom this blogger does not often agree, has pointed out some of these strange decisions in several articles. • Never mind slashed budgets: mindless mergers are the arts' big problem (3/12/2011) See also letter response in IT 6/12/2011: Financial cutbacks in culture sector! • Want to hear about a daft idea that deserves to be shelved? (19/11/2011)

Firstly he said that other ombudsman- like offices were to be merged with the Ombudsman Office. On the serface this seems true enough? However on closer examination there seem to be differences in emphasis: "Merge Commission on Public Service Appointments with Ombudsman Office "  seems straightforward enough but "Merge back-office functions of the Office of the Ombudsman for Children into the Ombudsman/Information Commissioner’s Office," seems to mantain the independance of the actual Childrens' Ombudsman; "Office of the Data Protection Commissioner: Amalgamate with the Office of the Ombudsman," seems a strange amalgamation in this day and age. However there seems to be no plan to merge the Garda Ombudsman Commission or the Financial Services Ombudsman although the  Pensions Ombudsman is to merge with the Financial Services Ombudsman. Where is the logic of these different decisions?

We must bear in mind that the reform's outlined in Howlin's document accepted and decided at Cabinet were largly economic. "We will relentlessly focus on delivering better value for money through the implementation of Public Service Reform," it says. However in response to a question in the Dáil Junior Minister Dinny McGinley said "Perhaps when this is finished it will cost more!..." (B’fhéidir, nuair a bheadh an deireadh thart go gcosnóidh sé níos mó....).

This final comment was greeted with some incredulity by the meeting.

What to do!
One of the possible things discussed was a boycott of the Review of the Act, instigated by the Department. However it was felt that this would perhaps feed the hostile intentions aimed at watering down the powers of the Act further. The most effective means of influencing the onward progress of the language status was to engage in the process. Éamon Ó Cuív, who as Minister painstakingly steered this act through the Oireachtas, suggested that personal contact with the local representative, TD, Senator and Councillor was far more effective that sending an email. There are so many emails now being sent to these representatives as to render them practically ineffective. Trevor Ó Clochartaigh was also present at the meeting and spoke strongly in favour of maintaining the independence of the office of the Coimisinéir Teanga. We did not hear or see any representatives of the Government party though I think there were some messages apologising for not been present.

The survey itself was felt to be written is a way which suggested preferred answers perhaps aimed at weakening the act.  It seems to be aimed at people who regularly use, or have regular contact with state services. However careful consideration of each of the questions and how one might use the services in the future should help in completing it usefully. A paper was distributed at the meeting which helped in understanding how to answer the questions.

The Conradh has made some  suggestions for additional points:

• That public companies have a statutory duty to provide their services in the Gaeltacht in an equal measure as provided in English in other areas. This national demand for service in Irish should also be fostered pro-actively throughout the country as an equal choice with that service in English.
• That the complexity of the services provided through language schemes to date be eased and a new system with a standard based on statutory regulations be developed
• Statutary languge regulations be clarified with bodies employed by public bodies acting on their behalf providing services to the public.

The most important thing was however to complete the survey and also to submit any additional suggestions thought to be of importance. (You might think that some of those from the Comisinéir Teanga worth emphasising here or those suggested above by the Conradh.) The form may be completed in Irish too. The form may be completed electronically in Irish or in English.

The meeting ended almost on-time, unusual in this correspondents experience, and when we emerged from the hotel the rain was still dancing on the early evening streets of Galway reflecting  the first lights of Christmas glimmering in the pools of water on the pavements.

Yu Ming and language rights!

Leagan Gaeilge

Every second-level school in Ireland is to be afforded the opportunity to teach their students about language rights in a new multi-media educational initiative developed by the Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga and launched in Galway recently by Gaeltacht Minister of State, Dinny McGinley TD.

Dinny McGinley TD

The initiative is aimed at giving students an insight into language rights generally and Irish language rights in particular, in the overall context of human rights. It involves a series of bilingual lessons and projects to be taught in the Junior Certificate course in Civil, Social and Political Education (CSPE) and includes a teacher’s manual, posters, task cards, a CD Rom and a DVD of video clips as well as online resources. Copies are currently being distributed to every second level school in Ireland.

The module deals with the advantages and challenges of multilingualism and explores the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It includes the screening of the award winning short film Yu Ming Is Ainm Dom (My Name Is Yu Ming), the story of a young Chinese man who learns Irish in anticipation of his visit to Ireland but experiences communications difficulties initially until he finds himself a job as a barman in the Gaeltacht.

Images of Irish national identity compiled by Nuacht TG4/RTÉ with a soundtrack from The Coronas form part of a lesson on culture and nationality; a set of tasks cards is used in a lesson that asks students to explain elements of Irish society to a visiting Martian and a further lesson involves developing bilingual stationery and signage.

The initiative was tested as a ‘pilot project’ in a selection of 15 schools throughout Ireland last year and the resultant feedback used to perfect the material. It can be taught through Irish, through English or bilingually as suits individual schools, teachers or classes.

“More than anything else this project should ensure that students are given a context for their learning of Irish in schools and that they understand and respect the concept of language rights” according to An Coimisinéir Teanga, Seán Ó Cuirreáin.

He described it as “potentially the most important initiative undertaken by this Office since its establishment if it sees significant numbers of students each year being taught the importance of language rights.” He reminded students from Coláiste na Coiribe in Galway who were present at the launch that as custodians of the Irish language we in Ireland are guardians of an important and endangered aspect of world heritage.

Launching the project Gaeltacht Minister of State, Dinny McGinley TD, said that he hoped it would help students develop their sense of identity as citizens of a country which has two official languages as well as increasing their awareness of the importance of protecting and promoting our national language.

The educational resource on language rights is being distributed with the support of COGG, the Department of Education and Skills’ advisory council on Gaeltacht and gaelscoil education. Chief Executive of COGG, Muireann Ní Mhóráin, said she hoped teachers would make full use of the material which afforded them every opportunity to put awareness of language rights on the educational
agenda in a way which would be of enormous benefit to pupils.

The material was developed by a panel of CSPE teachers with assistance from a wide range of organisations including the Department of Education’s Professional Development Service for teachers, NUIG’s Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge, COGG, Nuacht TG4/RTÉ, and others.