A LOCAL authority has failed to sell one copy of three different development plans translated into Irish over the past four years after spending over €30,000 to have the documents translated.
In response to the admission by Clare County Council, Green Party councillor Brian Meaney said yesterday: “It is insane that the council has to spend this money to comply with the Official Languages Act 2003.
“If the council is given a choice that has to be made in the future: spending €10,000 on translating an annual report into Irish or providing €10,000 in grants in improving homes for the elderly or people with disabilities, I know which choice I would make.”
The council yesterday confirmed that during the same period in which no Irish language editions of the plans were sold, a total of 190 copies of the English language editions of the plans were purchased by members of the public.
The council also confirmed that the translation costs related to the Clare County Development Plan, the North Clare Local Area Plan and East Clare Local Area Plan.
Acting director for planning in Clare, Nora Kaye stated: “The office of the Coimisinéir Teanga has confirmed to the council that all documents which set out public policy proposals should be available to the public in both Irish and English. This would include both the draft and final versions of all area plans and the county development plan.”
Mr Meaney’s comments follow the Colm McCarthy report recommending to the Government that it should amend the Official Languages Act 2003 to ensure that the requirement on Government departments, State agencies and local authorities to translate official publications into Irish be eased.
A spokeswoman for Conradh na Gaeilge said yesterday: “It is very important that the documents are available in Irish as well as English. It is everyone’s right that documents like these are available in Irish.”
