EU Irish move - Language needs to be promoted

GIVING official and working status to the Irish language in the EU ought to be welcomed, although cynics will see it as window dressing.

If successive governments were serious about the dignity of the language, they should have pressed for official standing for Irish long ago. Furthermore, they should have done far more to nurture its growth and development in daily life.

Ironically, it was the accession of ten Eastern European states, each with its own language, that finally galvanised this country into action on achieving official recognition for Irish. To date, it has merely been a Treaty language, with the various treaties also available in Irish.