Making use of the new status that Irish now has as a full working language of the European Union, a member of Parliament, Seán Kelly, has proposed an amendment in Irish to a piece of European legislation. This is the first time that the new status of Irish has been used to amend a piece of legislation before the Parliament. The first amendment itself regards the draft opinion from the Committee on International Trade regarding protecting multilateralism.
Dr Niall Comer, President of Conradh na Gaeilge said:
“Conradh na Gaeilge applauds Seán Kelly, MEP, for using the new status of the Irish language in the European Union and for providing a practical example of this status. This shows clearly the success of the campaign fought by the Irish language community to achieve full recognition for the Irish language in the European Union. Furthermore, it clearly shows that Irish has now taken its rightful place in the European Union, with the same status as all other official languages of the European Union. Conradh na Gaeilge now hopes that more Irish MEP’s will use the Irish language while contributing to legislation in the European Parliament. We hope also that this will add to the amount of Irish spoken by Irish MEP’s in the European Parliament and in the Parliament Committees.”
Peadar Mac Fhlannchadha, the Advocate Manager of Conradh na Gaeilge said:
“The use of Irish in the European Parliament is of great importance, especially in the context of the new status of the Irish language in the EU. The Parliament is the public face of the European Union, and it is the forum where the elected representatives from all of the member states meet. It is important that there is leadership shown by our public representatives regarding the language, and that they useIrish. Previously they could only speak Irish in the Parliament, but now they will also have the right to speak Irish in the Parliament Committees, and as Seán Kelly has done, they can use Irish while contributing to legislation before the Parliament. It is quite ironic however that the Irish language now has a higher status in the European Parliament compared to Dáil Éireann, nevermind the Northern Ireland Executive. The Irish government must take action immediately to correct this situation.”
Contact
Peadar Mac Fhlannchadha, Advocacy Manager & Deputy-General Secretary, Conradh na Gaeilge
+353 (0)87 4188050 | +353 (0)91 567824 |
Julian de Spáinn, General Secretary, Conradh na Gaeilge
+353 86 8142757
NOTE TO THE EDITOR:
Conradh na Gaeilge is the democratic forum for the Irish-speaking community. The Conradh has over 200 branches and numerous individual members registered around the world, members that work hard to promote the use of Irish in their own areas. Conradh na Gaeilge’s main aim is to promote the use of Irish as the standard language in Ireland. Conradh na Gaeilge was established by Douglas Hyde, Eoin Mac Néill, and their colleagues on the 31st of July 1893. The organisation runs Irish-language courses; advocates for the language rights of Irish-speakers; raises awareness about the language; hosts the international Irish-language festivalhttps://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.snag.ie/&source=gmail&ust=1643383079663000&usg=AOvVaw1MZz9tpImgDM9LceSO-31-"> Seachtain na Gaeilge; manages the Irish-language information hubhttps://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.peig.ie/&source=gmail&ust=1643383079663000&usg=AOvVaw2JeTuVAjL50ODQZ3-cCJaK"> PEIG.ie and the Irish-language bookshophttps://www.google.com/url?q=http://cnag.ie/siopa&source=gmail&ust=1643383079663000&usg=AOvVaw3iLcfHxGtnAnZPM1xCd_LY"> An Siopa Leabhar; supportshttps://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.rrr.ie/&source=gmail&ust=1643383079663000&usg=AOvVaw3pS9H6UlLij_1OF2rmjeso"> Raidió Rí-Rá; and much more. More information:https://www.google.com/url?q=http://cnag.ie/&source=gmail&ust=1643383079664000&usg=AOvVaw1JDf8T0yIsUcsz_sn0vemR"> www.cnag.ie
