Rónán Ó Domhnaill nominated by the Government for the position of An Coimisinéir Teanga
February 11, 2014
Seán Ó Cuirreáin’s successor to be appointed by the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins
Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Dinny McGinley T.D., has announced the nomination of journalist Rónán Ó Domhnaill from An Cheathrú Rua for the role of An Coimisinéir Teanga.
Ó Domhnaill is a graduate of the National University of Ireland, Galway, and he has been political correspondent with Nuacht RTÉ/TG4 for the past seven years.
21 expressions of interest were received for the position of Coimisinéir Teanga following on from the announcement by current Language Commissioner, Seán Ó Cuirreáin, in December that he will resign from his role on 23 February as a result of the Government’s failure to implement language legislation at the level of the State.
The Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga was established in 2004 under the Official Languages Act 2003 to monitor the compliance of public bodies with provisions under the Act and Ó Cuirreáin’s announcement continues to be a hot topic with the Government coming in for some heavy criticism in recent months based on the reasons given for Ó Cuirreáin’s, the first Language Commissioner ever appointed, decision to resign.
Announcing the Government’s nomination, the Minister of State said: “I’m delighted that Mr. Ó Domhnaill has accepted the nomination to the position as the new Coimisinéir Teanga. He is held in high esteem by the Irish language and Gaeltacht communities in his capacity as a political correspondent and I am certain that his experience will greatly benefit him as An Coimisinéir Teanga”.
Ó Domhnaill faces a challenging role as Language Commissioner where he must confront several issues raised by the current Commissioner including the low standard of the language scheme system, the lack of competence in Irish throughout the state service, the Government’s new recruitment policy for the state service and the lack of an independent audit or review on the implementation of the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language.
The outgoing Language Commissioner also cited the delay in the Heads of Bill regarding the review of the Official Languages Act 2003 which was announced in 2011, and the lack of details provided up until now regarding the merging of the Office of the Language Commissioner with the Office of the Ombudsman announced in the 2011 Public Service Reform Plan’.
An Coimisinéir Teanga, Seán Ó Cuirreáin has congratulated Rónán Ó Domhnaill on his nomination, “I wish him every success in the challenging work of promoting language rights for the people of the Gaeltacht and Irish speakers in general” he said.
Uachtarán Chonradh na Gaeilge, Donnchadh Ó hAodha, said that the appointment of Rónán Ó Domhnaill as An Coimisnéir Teanga is welcomed but the Government is continuing to avoid the major issue which is the addressing the recommendations made by the outgoing Coimisinéir Teanga, Seán Ó Cuirreáin.
The recommendations and “pretence” raised by Seán Ó Cuirreáin, as well as the challenges facing the newly appointed Coimisinéir Teanga, will be discussed when Minister of State Dinny McGinley, T.D., appears before the Oireachtas Sub-Committee on the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language and Related Matters on 6 March 2014.
An Coimisinéir Teanga is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Government following resolutions passed by Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann recommending the appointment. The period of appointment will last six years.
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com
