Christmas wish list: language rights
December 16, 2013
Public campaign for language equality for Irish speaking and Gaeltacht communy
A group of 50 third level students gathered outside Dáil Éireann on Friday, 13 December 2013, with letters to Santa asking the Government for language rights this Christmas.
Today’s protest was organised by Conradh na Gaeilge and the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) as a result of An Coimisinéir Teanga, Seán Ó Cuirreáin’s announcement that he would be resigning from his role on 23 February 2013 due to the Government’s failure to implement language legislation at the level of the State.
The campaign has been set up by Conradh na Gaeilge to show the Irish language community’s support for An Coimisinéir Teanga’s stance and their disappointment with the Government’s approach to Irish language matters.
USI Vice President for the Irish Language , Feidhlim Seoighe, USI Vice President for the Irish Language said, “Language rights are human rights – all USI and Conradh na Gaeilge are asking for from the Government this Christmas is that the Irish language gets the equality it deserves from the state. We want the Government to give Irish speakers their basic right to use Irish when dealing with state agencies, not just lip-service, and to assist – not hinder – the Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga in their work upholding the language rights of the Irish-speaking and Gaeltacht community”.
Based on recommendations made by An Coimisinéir Teanga and work currently underway, the campaign is calling on the Government to meet the following demands:
- That the Official Languages Act 2003 is strengthened, not weakened in 2014; this includes the retention and strengthening of an independent Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga.
- That a date is set by which employees of the State dealing with the Gaeltacht community must have fluent Irish, without condition or question – native Irish speakers should not be forced to conduct their business in English with state agencies.
- That the recruitment quota for people with competency in both Irish in the public service is increased from 6% to 30% within the next 10 years – under the new system envisaged by the Government, it would take over 28 years to increase the percentage of staff with competence in Irish in the Department of Education and Skills from the current 1.5% to 3%.
- That the derogation of the status of Irish as an official language of the European Union is done away with after 1 January 2017.
- That the Irish-language and Gaeltacht community is recognised as stakeholders in the implementation of The 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010 – 2030 in the south and in the Irish-Language Strategy in the north. It is imperative that the crucial high-level structures between authorities and Irish-language community organisations is established immediately.
President of Conradh na Gaeilge , Donnchadh Ó hAodha, said, “It is a damning indictment of the Government that the ombudsman for language rights, appointed by the President of Ireland, felt he had no choice but step down from his office at a time where he felt that for every one step forward in the promotion of the Irish language in the public sector, there appeared to have been two steps backwards”.
“Conradh na Gaeilge and USI are calling on the Government to rectify the situation immediately by addressing the concerns of An Coimisinéir Teanga as a matter of extreme urgency this Christmas, and to uphold the language rights of the Irish-speaking and Gaeltacht communities across the country before Seán Ó Cuirreáin steps down in the New Year”.
A public meeting regarding the campaign and the listed proposals will take place in Dublin on 11 January 2014.
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