Language status is guaranteed

IN your editorial (January 21), you comment that the 2012 review by EU officials to decide whether the official working language status of Irish can be sustained will be objective and without emotion.

This may be the case, but it will not affect the official status of Irish in Ireland.

According to the constitution, Irish is the first official language of this State and its current status in the EU is partly in recognition of this. To amend it, a constitutional referendum would be required.

Although the financial cost seems to be the main concern of your editorial, you can be certain that all politicians are acutely aware of the political cost of tinkering with the constitution.

On the subject of cost, if we are to decide language use in the EU on cost alone, why bother offering any translation or interpretation service at all?

The EU could run a competition — whichever language costs the least in interpretation/translation costs becomes the official language of the EU.

No doubt that would also energise us “language activists”.

Roseanne Smith

Cromghlinn

Baile Átha Cliath 12