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A crisis in the number of competent Irish language speakers in the State system shown clearly in the Coimisinéir Teanga’s report

Evidence again that the Language Bill, which the Taoiseach promised before the end of the month, needs to be published and enacted without delay

Rónán eile

Conradh na Gaeilge is calling on the Taoiseach and the Government to act immediately on the alarming evidence, which is outlined in the Coimisinéir Teanga's monitoring report published today, Thursday 11 July. The report highlights the lack of competent Irish speakers in the public service able to provide services in Irish to the general public. Conradh na Gaeilge is calling on the Government to publish the Language Bill before the end of the month, as the Taoiseach promised to the Dáil on 1 July, to address these problems.

The President of Conradh the Gaeilge, Niall Comer, said: “An Coimisinéir Teanga and his staff are to be commended for publishing such a comprehensive monitoring report. It is shocking that only 2.63% of those employed by government departments are identified as having competence in the Irish language. It is important that services in Irish are provided to the same standard as English across all government departments.”

Julian de Spáinn, the General Secretary of Conradh na Gaeilge said: “This report demonstrates the urgency for the publication of the Language Bill, which was promised by the Taoiseach in July, and the necessity to include goals regarding the recruitment of competent Irish speakers within government departments. Kantar Millward Brown conducted an all-Ireland survey on behalf of Conradh na Gaeilge in 2018 and found that 70% of those surveyed in the Republic of Ireland agreed that the services provided by the state should be made available through Irish for those who wish to use them.”

Conradh na Gaeilge will continue to press for a comprehensive Language Bill which would, amongst other issues, address the availability of services provided in Irish by the State.

 

 

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