"Speak in another language...."

Is Sinn Féin representative's stance diminished by the discomfort caused by the attitude of her party?

The slapping down of an elected representative of the Irish People in a forum of the European Union received little or no coverage in the English Language media in Ireland. It is only now receiving some coverage in the world press.

Liadh Ní Riada FPE

What others said!
• Aljazeera
• An Sionnach Fionn

Sinn Féin
• 17/2/2015
•4/3/2014

Sign the Petition!

Because of the actions of the Irish government the Irish Language, as an official working language of the Union, has been derogued since 2007. There may have been some justification in the earlier part of this period as there was arguably a shortage of suitably qualified interpreters though there are many qualified translaters who have been working the bureaucracy in Brussels and elsewhere since 1973. The situation is much improved now and interpreters are now readily available should the Government decide to lift the derogation. 

Adressing an International Conference on Language Rights recently Dr Professor P. B. Ó Laighin, a renowned expert on European Language Rights, following his meeting with representatives of the Taoiseach Enda Kenny stated: "To my knowledge a decision in principle has been made by the Government .... that the derogation will be renewed from the 1st January 2017." (my translation)

One of the elected members of the European Parliament vowed that she would speak only Irish at the institutions and meetings of the assembly for the first half of March 2015 (1st to 17th March 2015 which is called, perhaps euphamistially, Seachtain na Gaeilge - the Week of Irish!). Her first opportunity was on 2nd March 2015. During a joint meeting of Budgets and Economic and Monetary Affairs committees on March 2 Representative Liadh Ní Riada (Sinn Féin spoke in Irish - her native language and mother tongue - and this is what happened (this video last about 1 minute)

Though the chair of the meeting (who I believe was French and normally uses his own language officially translated for those whose French is not up to scratch) refers to a "decision of the Bureau" it is in fact a decision requested by the Irish Government and agreed by the other members of the union. Thus it is a matter for the Irish Government and the Taoiseach to decide in this matter. Sign the petion requesting this to happen!

A professional poll last month found that 70 percent of people in Ireland favoured the provision of all public services in Irish. But the Government is still inactive. Well might Seán Ó Cuirreáin, (the Coimisinéir Teanga who resigned in frustration at the lack of leadership from the present government) say: "... 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..." (23 January 2014 Translation the Coimisinéir's Office).

Perhaps another irony is the stance of the Party so well represented by this courageous woman. When I go to their website I am confronted with the Queen's English and even if I click the very difficult to find "Gaeilge" button, (See if you can find it!), there is little if no change except the headings which (when they work) lead to mish match of material which eventually leads on to more English pages. Press releases from Sinn Féin are general monolingualy Queen's English except the refer to Irish, the Gaeltacht or they are issued by the Senator from Galway West.

Maybe I am being a bit harsh and indeed in comparison with the other main parties north and south they are streets ahead. But if they wish to lead the Irish People they must respect its language and history and ethos. Look at their conduct in the houses of the Oireachtas. Yes they use the occasional phrases in Irish but evan the members whose mother tongue is Irish never (to my knowledge) use Irish in the house to discuss items other that Gaeltacht or Irish Language issues. Has Pearse Doherty (a Gaeltacht man) ever spoken at length on finance in Irish in the house? Newcomer, Galways West's Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh does use Irish frequently but generally speaking he retreats into English? (The same criticism may be levelled at say Fianna Fáil's Éamon Ó Cuív who has not, to my knowledge, ever made a speech in Irish to the house on his Agriculture Brief!).

In the North too they are regarded with some misgivings especially their actions or lack of actions on Foras na Gaeilge when they permitted that organisation to kill the only daily newspaer in Irish and the withdrawal of funds from some vibrant organisations.

In the recent Ard Fheis of the party held in the City of that great Irishman, Colmcille, a member, Dáithí Mac a'Bhaird, spoke of movingly and passionatly of his discomfort as an Irish speaker in the Sinn Féin party.

Never the less we must acknowledge the enthusiasm of those who do espouse and understand the cause. Listen to Trevor Ó Clochartaigh at the same Ard Fheis:

"'Live horse and get grass' is most likely the government's philosophy in relation to Irish. The danger is that the Irish language horse is on its deathbed because of the injustices met upon it by Enda Kenny and his friends.

“Fine Gael and the Labour have continually attacked the Irish language since they came into power. Seán Ó Cuirreáin, the Language Commissioner resigned from his position becuase of the lack of support for his work. The Official Languages Act is being amended in such a way that it is being completely weakened inasmuch as the government can get away with it.

“Heather Humphreys chose 'Google Translate' when she was launching the programme for the 1916 commemorations, reasoning that Irish has little role to play in such an event.

“Éamon Ó Cuiv and Fianna Fáil decimated the Údarás na Gaeltachta budget and Dinny McGinley followed suit. He ended direct elections to the bord to make sure that nobody could publicly condemn either the work of the organisation or government policies.

“Joe McHugh is a 'nice guy' who is making a good personal effort, but in relation to government policies regarding the Irish language – 'you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear'!

“The 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language is not functioning and there is a crisis in Gaeltacht regions in terms of young people being able to speak the language.

“But it was heartening to see 10,000 people on the streets and they 'Red with Anger'. The Minister Carál Ní Chuilinn is highlighting the substantial investment and political drive Sinn Féin has regarding for our native language. There are other elected representatives who are promoting Irish at every level.

“It goes without saying that Irish speaking communities and the Gaeltacht would be better off with Sinn Féin in government.

“We have to tackle the hostility the civil service has in relation to the language. We have to introduce recruitment quotas so that services in Irish can become available.

“We have to strengthen and broaden the Languages Act. The Language Commissioner should also have a stronger role in overseeing the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language.

“Full status for Irish has to be granted in the European Union.

“There has to be a government in Dublin that will impress upon Westminister and on unionists that the promise to implement the Languages Act in the six counties must be fulfilled.

“Sinn Féin will stand with the Irish language community, if the Irish language community stands with Sinn Féin.” (Translation Sinn Féin)

Yes everything strikes a note with us but perhaps it would be more believable if the Party showed us what they could do in the areas it has control over, their speakers in the Dáil, Seanad, Northern Assembly, County Councils, their website, their public pronouncements as Gaeilge etc.

But back to Liadh Ní Riada talking about the wonderfu but so far fruitless "Lá Mór na Gaeilge" in Dublin a year ago. "What was wonderful was you could hear Irish spoken everywhere on the streets of our capital. And then you start thinking, 'My God, once upon a time this country spoke Irish all over. It is all because we were colonised and the last thing that you do in stamping out somebody's identity is crush their language."

If I may mangle an old saying, "One MEP never made a summer!"

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)

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)

Functional bilinguals required!

'Go dtabharfaidh an tAire Caiteachas Poiblí, míniú ar cén bhunús taighde nó sochtheangeolaíoch atá leis an gcinneadh atá glactha ag an Rialtas maidir le cumas na Gaeilge ó thaobh earcaíocht sa Státseirbhís a athrú agus cén chaoi a dtacaíonn sé seo leis an Straitéis Fiche Bliain don Ghaeilge a chuir chun cinn?' (Our translation: That the Minister for Public Expenditure outline the basis in research or sociolinguistic theory for the Government's decision to change the criteria in relation to proficiency in the Irish language for recruitment into the public and civil service and how this supports the Governments 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language?) 

This a question put by Seanadóir Trevor Ó Clochartaigh on Wednesday 6th November seeking, from the Minister for Public Expendiature, clarification or an explanation of the decision made by the Government the previous week as mentioned in our blog, Now we know the state of play!

See the notice of the question on the Business of Seanad for the day (Second Notice). See also link to debate at bottom of page!

The Minister responded in a written reply entirely in English, and not very careful English at that. He switches between first and third person in his statement. The fact that he responds to a question posted in Irish in one of the Houses of the Oireachtas  says far more than anything else the attitude of this Government to our language and those who wish to exercise their right to use it in their own country. Indeed it is an insult, calculated, not only to Seanadóir Ó Clochartaigh but also to the Seanad itself and to the historic Irish nation!

He refers, somewhat disingenuously, to the fact that the previous system was "not, in practice, achieving its policy objective," and "demonstrably didn't achieve the required policy outcome!" He does not refer to the fact that the system as originally envisaged was never fully complied with. A report on this was laid before the Oireachtas during 2011. Details of laying this report appears at the bottom of this page.

The relevant Oireachtas committee has not reported on their own deliberations on this matter so the Government's decision pre-empts the Oireachtas. Hardly a sign of respect for the houses of the Oireachtas from the administration.

This is the unadulterated text of the Minister's response:

Irish Language Proficiency in the Civil Service 6th November 2013 Adjournment Debate The policy of awarding bonus marks for Irish language proficiency in civil service competitions was introduced following the abolition of compulsory Irish in the 1970s. (See our blog "Richie Ryan decision made language marginal" 4/2/2011). In developing pragmatic policies in support of Irish language proficiency to replace the existing legacy policy, I was guided by a public policy imperative to develop a coherent set of measures that support service delivery through Irish, in the 21st century. The Minister! In formulating the new policy the Minister (sic) was conscious that the bonus marks scheme was not, in practice, achieving its policy objective. The uptake of the scheme was low and those awarded bonus marks were not being utilised to provide services through Irish. The Minister's focus since taking office is about driving change and reform across the public service to make it high performing and more "fit for purpose". In this context, we are rolling out more strategic workforce planning policies to ensure that the right peopole, are in the right place, to deliver effective policy initiatives and to support efficient service delivery. Within this overarching policy, Irish language proficiency policy for the civil service has been refocused to provide more meaningful and effective services through Irish. The Departments (sic) Implementation Plan for the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-30 includes measures aimed at building capacity in the provision of Irish language services in the civil service. The workforce planning process will be amended to require Government Departments and Offices to identify posts and areas of work requiring functional bilinguals. (underlined in original!) We have now given practical effect to the commitments in the measures to support Irish language proficiency in the civil service that was unveiled last week. The policy includes provision for a sub-panel of functional bilinguals equal to 6% of the main panel for future recruitment and, where appropriate, promotion competitions. Successful candidates from the main competition panel will be tested on a basis of a rigorous written and oral Irish test and must be able to provide a full range of services to customers - and internally within Departments - in Irish and must be designated for that purpose for a period of time. We will pilot this approach in upcoming EO competition to access demand for functional bilinguals across Departments. If demand exists it will be applied to future competitions. The shift from the policy of awarding bonus marks for Irish in competitions - that demonstrably didn't achieve the required policy outcome - to an approach that puts in place a panel of functional bilinguals for deployment across the system - is designed to renew and strengthen Irish language proficiency across the civil service. We see scope for greater linkages between the Irish language schemes and strategic workforce planning so as to ensure that Departments clearly identify the need if any. In tandem with the functional bilingual policy I believe there is an ongoing need for an Irish language training and proficiency assessment regime for existing civil servants. The service level agreement between my Department and the Department of Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht supports capacity building and provides a practical mechanism to support Irish language training services and proficiency testing. In conclusion, resourcing policy for the Irish language must have a greater competency-based focus. I believe the new measures that have been in place represent a very real improvement and go a long way towards achieving this outcome. The legacy policy was not providing service delivery in Irish and it was time for change - the measures achieved last week are the first step to a more realistic and coherent policy in this area. The policy is intended to meet our stated commitment under the 20 Year Strategy and to create a supply of functional bilinguals for deployment across the civil service, over the medium to longer term.

Notes:
1. Extract from release on his annual report for 2011, issued by Seán Ó Cuirreáin, the Coimisinéir Teanga on 24 April 2012.
"The report relates to the Department of Social Protection which was found to be in breach of statutory language provisions but failed to take corrective action. Two separate investigations found that the Department did not comply properly with its statutory language obligations with regard to the awarding of bonus marks for proficiency in Irish and English in specific
internal promotion competitions.

The system for the awarding of bonus marks for proficiency in the two languages was established in 1975 to replace the previous system of “compulsory” Irish. The investigation found that the Department had a statutory duty to award bonus marks for competence in Irish and English to suitably qualified candidates and that the Department was in breach of this provision when it limited the award of the bonus marks to candidates who had progressed to the final stage of promotion competitions. “The flawed approach adopted by the Department appears to be mirrored across the Civil Service and is clearly partly to blame for the marginalisation of Irish within the workforce in the sector,” according to An Coimisinéir Teanga.

The Department did not appeal An Coimisinéir Teanga’s findings to the High Court on a point of law as permitted by legislation, but, neither did it implement the recommendations of the investigations. “In reporting this matter to both Houses of the Oireachtas, I have concluded my work on the issue and it now falls to the Oireachtas to take whatever course of action, if any, it deems appropriate in the circumstances” said Mr. Ó Cuirreáin."

2. There was further clarification on the actual evening that the matter was read. The Minister himself did not attend but Junior Minister Hayes did submit responses including reading this document into the record of the debate under the heading: Irish Language Issues 6/11/2013)

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". 

  

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.