asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce whether, in connection with any part of the work of his Department and in any part of the country, an investigation has been carried out, during the last ten years, into the position of the Irish language and its use as a vernacular; and if so, whether he will take steps to make the result of these investigations available to members of the Oireachtas.
Written Answers. - Irish as a Vernacular.
On the Schedule used in connection with the Census of Population taken on 12/5/46 a question was included which asked for information regarding the knowledge of the Irish language of each person. The question was on similar lines to one asked in connection with the 1936 Census of Population, the results of which were, after presentation to the Oireachtas, published in Vol. VIII, Irish Language, of the 1936 series of census reports. The results of the inquiry of 1946 will be presented to the Oireachtas as soon as they become available.
asked the Minister for Local Government whether, in connection with any part of the work of his Department and in any part of the country, an investigation has been carried out, during the last ten years, into the position of the Irish language and its use as a vernacular; and if so, whether he will take steps to make the result of these investigations available to members of the Oireachtas.
The functions of the Minister for Local Government in relation to Irish and its use arise from the administration of the Local Offices and Employments (Gaeltacht) Orders, 1928-1947, and the Local Officers (Irish Language) Regulations, 1944. The purpose of the Orders was to provide as far as possible for the local services in the Gaeltacht officers able to perform their duties through the medium of Irish, and the regulations were made to ensure that in all areas, whether in the Gaeltacht or not, preferences would be given to candidates for local offices with a knowledge of Irish.
The working of these Orders has been reviewed from time to time. The following is a statistical summary of the results at the date of the last review (July, 1945):—
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Appointed to offices and employments in Gael- tacht 1928-1945: |
Persons1,442 |
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Excluded from operation of Orders |
56 |
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Resigned, died or removed from office for reasons other than failure to qualify in Irish |
371 |
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Fulfilled conditions as to knowledge of Irish |
660 |
1,087 |
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355 |
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Have not qualified: |
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Removed from office for that reason |
7 |
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Period of office extended |
186 |
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Extension not yet necessary |
162 |
348 |
355 |
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The extent to which local officers with a knowledge of Irish make use of the language as a vernacular depends on the use of Irish by the population amongst whom they serve. It has not been made the subject of special investigation.
So far as the Department is concerned, any communications in Irish are dealt with in Irish and certain letters and forms in use in the Gaeltacht are issued only in Irish. Until it is found possible to raise the standard of Irish required from new entrants to the local service it is probable many local officers would not be competent to deal with official business through Irish if required to do so.