If Maltese can be official language, why can’t Irish?

IT is clear from the answer which he gave to the Fine Gael Leader, Mr Enda Kenny, TD in the Dáil last wednesday that the Taoiseach is badly advised in relation to the status of the Irish language in the EU.

The conditions to be fulfilled by any state which wishes to include its national language as an official EU language are as follows:

1. That it be an official language throughout that state;

2. That the treaties of the EU be drawn up in that language;

3. That the state undertakes the translation of current EU law (the acquis communautaire) into that language,

4. That the state’s government make the request for its inclusion.

On June 1, 2001, Jonas Sjöstedt, MEP asked the Commission whether Maltese would be an official language of the European Union if Malta were to join (written question E-1610/01).

Günter Verheugen answered as follows on behalf of the Commission on July 27, 2001:

“It is for the Maltese authorities to adopt a position on Maltese becoming an official language.”

In June of 2001, the government of Malta provisionally informed the Commission that they wished to have Maltese as an official language, and that they had begun to translate the acquis.

On May 7, 2002, the Council of the European Union noted that “as from accession, Maltese will be recognised as an authentic language of the Treaties as well as an official and working language to be used by the European institutions (8024/02 IH 8).”

Were the Irish Government to request that Irish to be included as an official EU language, it would be acceded to on the same basis.

It is for the Irish Government to adopt a position on this matter.

The Taoiseach also alluded to the de facto lesser-used language position of Irish in the State as a bar to its recognition as an official EU language and asserted that 99% of official business in Malta is conducted in Maltese.

This has no basis in law or fact.

Language use internally is not a consideration when deciding whether or not to recognise a language as an official EU language. Malta is a very bilingual society and English is widely used in official business as is clear from its government website www.gov.mt.

Furthermore the Maltese government negotiated that country’s accession to the EU entirely through English.

Irish, our national and first official language, is of course used in official business at all levels of our judicial, parliamentary and administrative systems.

It is hoped that Minister Ó Cuív’s committee, which is due to report within a few weeks, will bring some clarity to this matter.

Dáithí Mac Cárthaigh, BL,

Law Library,

Dublin 7.