Madam, - In view of the interest expressed by your readers in the status of the Irish language I wish to put on record the Labour Party position.
In February in Dáil Éireann, the Labour Party leader, Mr Pat Rabbitte, proposed a motion calling on the Government to make the most of the EU presidency and to have the Irish language included as an official language of the European Union and its institutions. This motion received cross-party support and was carried.
During the debate the Labour Party called on the Government to spell out the specific steps it intended to take to ensure that the decision of the Oireachtas to seek recognition of Irish as an official language was implemented. At the time, the Government declined to elaborate on what would be done to activate the motion despite being pressed to do so. However, some four months on from that debate, the Government's tokenism towards the Irish language is now apparent.
We have heard the Taoiseach explain this week in the Dáil what those steps are when he said, "We must be realistic regarding the usefulness of what we seek". This blinkered view only compounds the earlier neglect of the Irish language. - Yours, etc.,
Deputy EMMET STAGG, Labour Party Chief Whip, Straffan, Co Kildare.