Government blocks probe to find if judge can speak Irish

AN EFFORT by the Irish language ombudsman to establish if a district judge could speak fluent Irish has been blocked by the Government.

An Coimisineir Teanga, Seán Ó Cuirreáin, launched the investigation after a district judge was appointed to a Gaeltacht area of Donegal.

The 1924 Courts of Justice Act states that a judge allocated to a district where the Irish language is in general use must have enough of a grasp of the language in order that an interpreter will not be required.