The Irish language has gone through something of a revival in major population centres as gaelscoileanna emerged and families welcomed an opportunity to get closer to their roots.
A growing knowledge of the language was reflected in the recent census figures. And the voluntary basis of the recovery, assisted by some government funding, was particularly heartening. All the more reason then, to be concerned about heavy-handed official intervention that could have a counter-productive effect.
Old habits die hard. Making rules and regulations is a Pavlovian response within any bureaucracy. In the past, politicians drew lines around gaeltacht and breac-gaeltacht areas and provided special grants for the people there. Irish was made compulsory in all schools. And you couldn't get a State job if you didn't have the cupla focal. In spite of that, literacy levels in Irish and day-to-day usage declined. Today, many second-level students have only a vestigial knowledge of Irish. We have laws and regulations to beat the band but many people have become alienated from a limping revival campaign.
Minister for Rural, Community and Gaeltacht Affairs Eamon O Cuív must have been aware of the corrosive effect compulsion can have on public sentiment when he signed a series of directives on October 2nd requiring all public bodies to utilise the Irish language on their official answering and public address systems; to use it on all notepaper and office stationary; and to give it precedence on their public signage from January 1st, 2009. About 500 organisations and agencies will be affected. But the financial cost involved and the impact of them on public attitudes has not been quantified.
Independent Senator Joe O'Toole, a committed revivalist, has suggested the Minister should encourage, rather than direct, public bodies to utilise the Irish language to a greater extent. And he has criticised the one-size-fits-all approach taken to such a disparate group. Why, he wondered, should the Crisis Pregnancy Agency and the Chester Beatty Library be treated like a county council ? There is clearly a case to be made for exemptions and for a gradualist approach in particular circumstances.
Last month, the people of Dingle in Co Kerry voted overwhelmingly against the Minister's determination that all road signs for the town should be displayed in Irish. Confusion caused by a change in name to Daingean Ui Chuis could have cost the town business and, ultimately, jobs. Eventually, Mr O Cuív accepted a compromise involving the use of English and Irish. We should foster our native language, but through gentle encouragement and incentive, rather that crude compulsion.