The Irish language campaign group Stadas has expressed "delight" at the Government's decision to seek approval for Irish as an official EU language, writes Lorna Siggins, Western Correspondent
The decision taken at Cabinet yesterday is seen as a victory for the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Mr Ó Cuív, who said that there was "unanimous" support among his colleagues for the move. "This will put Irish on a par with Finnish, Swedish, Danish and Maltese, if it is successful, and we are confident that it will be," he said.
Currently, Irish is given treaty status, which only obliges the EU to translate all major treaties into the language. Irish and Luxemburgish are the only national languages in the EU which do not enjoy official status in European institutions. Such status would require EU laws and official documents to be issued in Irish, although the main languages for negotiations at Commissioner-level will still be English, French and German.
Up to 110 new translators and 40 new interpreters could be employed by the European Commission for Irish translation work if the Government's move is successful, but Mr Ó Cuív said that the decision was "more than about creating jobs".
The Minister said discussions would now take place with the Commission and with other member-states to seek support for recognition. While the decision had not been taken in direct response to the Stadas campaign, the issue "might not have come up now" if it had not been for the campaign, he said.
Irish-language activists say the Government had hedged its bets on the issue until yesterday's decision. Dr Pádraig Ó Laighin, spokesman for the campaign, said that he was delighted. "It is a matter of national self-esteem that one of Europe's most ancient languages should be recognised in this way. Irish is central to our definition of what Europe is and has been for the last 2,000 years," he said.
Stadas argues that having Irish as an EU official language would bring economic as well as cultural benefits to Ireland. Earlier this year, the Commissioner responsible for education and culture, Luxembourg's Viviane Reding, said giving the Irish language official status in the EU would do nothing to help it. "You know what you should do in Ireland? Speak Irish, write Irish, be proud of Irish, use Irish in everyday language and show Irish culture to the 24 nations around you. But making it an official language doesn't bring you a thing." Ms Reding said her country decided not to seek official status for its language despite the fact that it is spoken by the whole population.