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01/14/2004: "Letter to the Taoiseach"

I received this request (in Irish and English) to send a
letter to the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, asking to have Irish be made one of
the 20 Official languages of the EU which it is currently expected to not
be (forgive me if this was posted before, and I missed it):

"A Chara,

Ni fada go mbeidh 20 teanga oifigiuil ag an Aontas Eorpach. Ni bheidh
Gaeilge san aireamh.
Soon there will be 20 Official languages in the EU. Irish will not be one
ofthem.

De réir mar a mheadaionn tionchar an AE ar ar saol beidh an-bhrú
artheangacha nach teangacha oifigiúla den AE iad.
As the influence exerted by the EU on our lives increases, languages
thatare not Official EU Languages will be put under great pressure.

Cuir litir chuig an Taoiseach, Tithe an Rialtais, Baile Átha Cliath 2. Ni
gádon Rialtas ach é a iarraidh do ndeanfar teanga oifigiúil den AE den
Ghaeilge:-
The Govt. only has to ask and Irish will be made one of the official
languages.

tuilleadh eolais/further info: www.cnag.ie

Scaip an scéal le do thoil.Please spread the word."

In the extended section is a sample letter in Irish and English. You don't have to be a
fluent Irish speaker to want Irish to be an Official EU Language, and feel
free to use the English version of the letter. Just sign the letter and mail the Taoiseach!


IRISH VERSION

Bertie Ahern, T.D.
Taoiseach
161 Bóthar Dhrom Conrach Íochtarach
Baile Átha Cliath 9
taoiseach@taoiseach.irlgov.ie

A Thaoisigh, a chara,

Tar éis mhéadú na Bealtaine, beidh 20 teanga oifigiúil ag an Aontas
Eorpach. Ní áireofar Gaeilge. Leasófar dlí an AE (Rialachán Comhairle
1/1958) chun Eastóinis, Laitvis, Liotuáinis, Polainnis, Seicis, Slóvacais,
Ungáiris, Slóivéinis agus Máltais (a bhfuil c.380,000 cainteoirí aici ar
nós na Gaeilge) a chur isteach.

1. Aistreofar dlíthe an Aontais agus doiciméid oifigiúla isteach sna
teangacha oifigiúla nua. Ní foláir dlíthe a achtaíonn an tOireachtas a chur
amach i nGaeilge agus i mBéarla. Cé go gcuirtear dlíthe an AE i bhfeidhm go
díreach in Éirinn, ní chaithfear iad (seachas conarthaí) a chur amach as
Gaeilge.

2. Bíonn postanna in institiúidí an AE oscailte do shaoránaigh an
Aontais a bhfuil 2 cheann (nó níos mó) de theangacha oifigiúla an AE acu.
Fágtar an tÉireannach faoi mhíbhuntáiste mar ní thugtar Gaeilge san áireamh.

3. Fostóidh an tAontas 110 aistreoirí breise agus 40 teangairí breise
i gcomhair gach teanga oifigiúla nua. Dá mbeadh Gaeilge san áireamh, bheadh
deiseanna fostaíochta ann dá réir do Éireannaigh. Ba ghá freisin Gaeilge a
chur ar riaráistí na ndlíthe Eorpacha reatha gan aistriú idir dhá am.
D’íocfadh ciste aistriúcháin an AE (a chosnaíonn €2 an duine faoi láthair)
as an gcúram sin agus ní foláir d’Éirinn íoc isteach sa chiste sin pé scéal
é.

Tá an tAontas bunaithe ar éagsúlacht cultúir, rud a fhágann an t-
ilteangachas ag croí-lár an Tionscnaimh Eorpaigh. Agus tionchar an Aontais
ar ár saol laethúil ag méadú, is teanga faoi bhrú aon teanga a bheas dúnta
amach ó ghnóthaí an AE agus ní féidir dul i mbannaí ar a bhfuil i ndán di.
Níor ghá gach uile cháipéis a aistriú go Gaeilge: Féadfaidh institiúidí an
AE a leagan síos ina gcuid rialacha féin cé acu teangacha oifigiúla a
mbainfear leas astu i gcásanna áirithe(Rialachán Comhairle 1/1958,
Airteagal 6). Ó lá go chéile, is iad gnáth-theangacha oibre Choimisiúin na
hEorpa, m.sh., ná Béarla, Fraincis agus úsáid na Gearmáinise ag méadú léi
freisin.

Freisin, baintear leas as teangacha “droichid” chun teangacha na náisiún
beag a aistriú; m.sh. aistrítear Mailtis go Béarla agus ansin go Slóivéinis
agus vice versa. Bheadh a leithéid de leagan amach oiriúnach don Ghaeilge.
Ní gá don Rialtas ach a iarraidh go mbeadh an Ghaeilge ina teanga oifigiúil
den AE. Tacaigh lenár bhfeachtas!

Is mise le meas,



ENGLISH VERSION

Bertie Ahern, T.D.
Taoiseach
161 Lower Dromcondra Road
Dublin 9
taoiseach@taoiseach.irlgov.ie

Dear Taoiseach,

Following the accession in May, the EU shall have 20 official languages.
Irish will not be included. EU law (Council Regulation 1/1958) shall be
amended to insert Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Czech, Slovak,
Hungarian, Slovene and Maltese (which similar to Irish has c.380,000
speakers).

1. EU laws and official documents shall be translated into the new
official EU languages. Laws enacted by the Oireachtas must be issued in
Irish and English. Although EU law is directly enforceable in Ireland, the
EU is not obliged to issue European laws (except treaties) in Irish.

2. Whenever job opportunities with EU institutions arise, these are
open to EU citizens who can speak 2 (or more) official EU languages. Irish
citizens applying for such jobs are disadvantaged as Irish is disregarded.

3. For each new official language, the EU shall engage 110 new
translators and 40 new interpreters. Were Irish also included, such
employment opportunities would present for Irish people. Arrears of current
applicable European law would also need to be translated into Irish in the
interim.

The funding for all this would come from the EU translation budget (which
currently costs €2 per person) and to which Ireland shall contribute in any
event.

The EU is based on a diversity of different cultures, which makes
multilingualism essential to the European Project. As the influence of the
EU in our everyday lives grows, any language excluded from EU business will
come under great pressure and its future will be in doubt.

Not every single document would need to be translated into Irish: EU
institutions may stipulate in their rules of procedure which official
languages are to be used in specific cases (Council Regulation 1/1958,
Article 6). In practice, the normal day-to-day working languages used, for
example, in the European Commission, are English, French and increasingly,
German.

Also, relay languages are used in the translation of languages of small
nations; e.g.: Maltese is translated into English and then to Slovene and
vice versa. Such an arrangement would address the practical modalities of
translation for Irish.

The Irish Government has but to ask that Irish be included as an official
EU language. Support our campaign!

Yours sincerely,