Skip to main content
Normal View

Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 11 Mar 1943

Vol. 89 No. 10

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish in the Courts.

asked the Minister for Justice if he will state in respect of each of the last five years for which the figures are available the number of cases heard by the several Courts of Justice in which the proceedings were conducted entirely in the Irish language, distinguishing as nearly as possible between those which took place in the Gaeltacht and in the rest of the State.

General statistics on the lines indicated in the question have not been collected and the figures asked for are, accordingly, in general, not available. Inquiries were, however, made as regards the use of Irish in the District Court in two districts in which Irish is commonly spoken, viz., North Donegal and West Galway. The inquiries covered a period of 22 months, viz., 1st August, 1939, to 31st May, 1941.

The figures obtained as a result of these inquiries were:—

North Donegal:

Total cases heard

5,134

Number heard wholly in Irish

824

Number heard partly in Irish

548

Number heard in English

3,762

West Galway:

Total cases heard

10,065

Wholly in Irish

5,101

Partly in Irish

994

In English

3,970

Top
Share