Madam, - The Irish Association for Applied Linguistics (IRAAL) was founded in ITÉ in 1975 to support research in applied and general linguistics in Ireland. Its membership derives from teachers, researchers and students in universities and third-level institutions in Ireland and abroad. The announced closure of ITÉ (The Linguistics Institute of Ireland) greatly concerns this association.
Apart from the contribution of its specialised research, ITÉ houses a library of books and journals on languages and language issues that is an invaluable and irreplaceable asset to our members. What is to happen to this resource? Over the years, ITÉ has been a prolific publisher, and has produced important books, teaching/learning materials and scholarly journals. What is the future for all such publications? The institute also provided a series of support materials and advice, including a website for teachers and students of Irish, Spanish, German, French, Japanese and Italian. Continued access by teachers and language researchers alike to a range of material is vital for the future development of modern languages in Ireland.
Further, the institute is to the forefront of research in several areas of linguistics, such as the teaching and learning of Irish and the applications of computers in analysing languages and creating dictionaries. It has a had a special relationship with the deaf community in Ireland, supporting users of Irish Sign Language and housing research into the linguistic needs of deaf people. It has a long tradition of practical and theoretical research in language testing, in which expertise is uncommon in Ireland.
The institute works in many cases partnership with similar bodies elsewhere in the EU. What are ITÉ's partners and academics in other countries to think of the Irish Government's dissolution of our national institute for research into language and linguistics? The irony of such a decision is strident when Ireland is about to assume presidency of the EU and, in particular, preside over its expansion to include the accession states with their range of languages.
The greatest victims of all this, of course, are the 25 or so workers at ITÉ, both research and support staff, who now face redundancy at a time when their expertise is needed more than ever.
It is of immediate concern to an academic association such as IRAAL that the work, expertise and resources provided by ITÉ be supported and maintained. - Yours, etc.,
Dr MUIRIS Ó LAOIRE, President, IRAAL, Institute of Technology, Tralee, Co Kerry.