Access to State services through Irish a Constitutional right, says Ó Cuiv

THE right of citizens to access State services and documents through Irish is a Constitutional right, said Gaeltacht Minister Eamon Ó Cuiv yesterday.

The minister strongly defended the Official Languages Act 2003 and the obligations it imposes on State bodies to translate official documents and the rights it gives Irish speakers to access services in Ireland.

Mr Ó Cuiv was debating a series of new regulations proposed under Section 9 of the Act, including the use of dual language road signs and telephone voice messages to be available bilingually.

He and independent Senator Joe O’Toole also renewed their clash over the controversy surrounding signage for the Kerry Gaeltacht town of Dingle/Daingean Uí Chúise (An Daingean).

The minister argued the truth was the first casualty of that debate and suggested that Mr O’Toole’s stance was at odds with earlier statements he made supporting the Act when it was going through the Seanad in 2003.

While the Act attracted cross-party support during its passage through the Oireachtas, there have been complaints since then about the costs of translating official documents into Irish and of imposing obligations on State agencies. However, the minister referred to the voluntary code that existed for State bodies before the Act came into being. He said the then minister, Michael D Higgins, accepted fully this year that it had not worked, State bodies were simply not prepared to do more to promote Irish.

He also quoted from Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman’s judgement in the Ó Braonáin case in the Supreme Court where he stated that compliance with the Constitutional obligation to Irish was expensive but necessary.

Green Party leader Trevor Sargent, Sinn Féin’s Aengus Ó Snódaigh and Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú strongly supported the regulations.

Most of the debate was conducted through Irish.