Conradh na Gaeilge are calling on the Minister of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to stand by the promise that he made on the 29th of November 2011 in the Dáil when he said the following:
‘If there are good reasons to establish a new State agency or commercial entity, I am happy to agree with the Deputy that we should select a suitable name as Gaeilge which would be the brand under which the new company would trade.’
Conradh na Gaeilge warmly welcomed this stance taken by the Minister and we praised him at the time for supporting the naming of any new State agency or company in Irish. We were therefore amazed to discover that Minister Rabbitte had signed an order on the 20th of June 2014 to change the name of ‘Bord Gáis Éireann’ to ‘Ervia’. This does not reflect what he said in the Dáil and we are calling on him to amend this order immediately.
Cóilín Ó Cearbhaill, President of Conradh na Gaeilge says:
“Any language planner would be able to demonstrate that support is required from the State to promote the image and the status of the Irish language. We are very disappointed to hear that Minister Rabbitte is proposing to lower the status of the language by changing the name of 'Bord Gáis Éireann' to 'Ervia', especially after what he said in the Dáil in November 2011 that a suitable name as Gaeilge should be selected for any new state agency or company which would be the brand under which the new company would trade. We are calling on the Minister to stand by what he said, amend the order, and choose a name in Irish for this state company.”
Julian de Spáinn, General Secretary of Conradh na Gaeilge says:
“It would not cost the State a cent to name this new integrated company in Irish. It would actually enhance the image and the status of the language and it would adhere to the Government’s own 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2012-2030. It is a great shame that new names chosen by the Government recently, such as 'Electric Ireland' and 'Irish Water', have been named in English. This has reduced instead of increased the status of the language. Minister Rabbitte has the opportunity to break this habit and make the right decision which would have no cost to the state.”
Conradh na Gaeilge is calling on the Minister of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to stand by what he said in the Dáil and choose a suitable name in Irish which would be the brand under which the new company would trade. To do this he must, therefore, amend the order and choose a name in Irish for this state company immediately. END
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Julian de Spáinn,
General Secretary, Conradh na Gaeilge
+353 (0)86 8142757 / +353 (0)1 4757401
Síne Nic an Ailí
Development Executive, Conradh na Gaeilge
+353 (0)1 4757401 / +353 (0)87 6546673
NEWS RELEASE
Date: 22 June 2014
For immediate release
EDITOR’S NOTE:
Conradh na Gaeilge is the democratic forum for the Irish-speaking community working to promote the language. There are over 180 branches of Conradh na Gaeilge and since its foundation in 1893, members of the Conradh have been actively promoting Irish in every aspect of life in Ireland and especially its use in their own areas. Conraitheoirí are at the forefront of campaigns to secure and strengthen the rights of the Irish language community. It is also possible to register as an individual member of the Conradh. Conradh na Gaeilge runs Irish-language courses in Dublin, Galway, Mayo, Tipperary, Newry and other locations across Ireland. www.cnag.ie/courses
