Irish language recognised but under-utilised at EU level

by Grace Campbell


Tomás Sharkey of Sinn Féin, speaking in Navan Co. Meath, stressed the significance of the Irish language in the East constituency and how the use of the national language in the European Parliament strengthens the overall identity of Ireland in the EU.

Mr. Sharkey, who is running for the upcoming European elections in the East, feels that even though the Irish language is officially recognised in the European Parliament that the use of the language is “not taken far enough.”

He said: “That’s not because the staff of the Commission or the Parliament is against Irish, it’s because the Irish government won’t provide the qualified staff.”

Mr. Sharkey is a fluent Irish speaker and teacher of the language. He has recently been in negotiations with the translation department in the European Parliament to overcome the obstacles that currently stand in the way of the Irish language flourishing at EU level. “If somebody speaks in English or any other language it does not get translated into Gaeilge,” said Mr. Sharkey.

One of the major problems compounding this issue is the lack of Irish MEPs who speak the national language. “The biggest threat is from our own home base politicians who refuse to represent our culture and our heritage there,” said Mr. Sharkey. “We do have a serious lack of skills among the Irish MEPs in their ability to speak Irish in the Parliament.”

Mr. Sharkey proposes to establish a “centre of excellence” in the Gaeltacht area of Rath Cairn, Co. Meath to give existing translators in Brussels the chance to develop their Irish language skills and to increase jobs for Irish people to work in Brussels as translators.

“We have a great opportunity with the new Irish living here now,” said Mr. Sharkey. “Those children who are bilingual and trilingual are going to be the future linguists for Ireland.”

The East constituency boasts a small Gaeltacht region compared to other constituencies but this does not seem to deter constituent’s interest in the national language. According to Mr. Sharkey “A study came out last month from the National University of Maynooth that found that support for the Irish language is strongest in Leinster.”

He said “We don’t have a big geographical Gaeltacht but we have, as a constituency, the strongest block of people in Ireland who support the Irish language.”

Mr. Sharkey added “We have had the biggest growth of all-Irish primary and secondary schools in this part of the country. We are going to see less ‘all day’ Irish speakers but ‘every day’ Irish speakers instead. There will be more people who will have the opportunity to use the Irish language throughout their working lives.”