THE VAST MAJORITY of local authorities are not complying with legislation to provide services through Irish.

Just two out of 32 councils are fully compliant with the Official Languages Act, according to the annual report of the Irish language commissioner.

Local authorities are obliged to offer their services in Irish, however an audit carried out by An Comisinéir Teanga in the last 12 months found widespread failings.

Donegal and Laois county councils were the only bodies fully compliant with the regulations.

Sinn Féin’s Irish Language and Gaeltacht spokesperson, Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh, said the government should follow the Welsh example. After visiting the Welsh Assembly, Ó Clochartaigh said:

“Wales has less of a population than Ireland and their economic situation is equally precarious, but it is quite clear that their commitment to their national language far outstrips that of the Irish government.

The Irish government needs to step up to the plate and deliver proper language rights for citizens. They could do worse than follow the Welsh language model.

“Welsh Assembly members and staff could not believe that we do not have the same level of language supports in the Houses of the Oireachtas in Ireland and that our system is inferior by far.”

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