Irish in the Oireachtas

Bills & Acts

Acts of the Oireachtas may be published online in either English or Irish, but the printed versions are published in both Irish and English simultaneously.

Debates

Members of either House of the Oireachtas may speak in Irish or English during proceedings in the Dáil, Seanad and committees. The Dáil and Seanad Order Papers are bilingual documents, including both Irish and English.

When TDs and Senators speak in Irish in the Houses, their contributions are simultaneously translated for the benefit of Members who do not speak Irish. Members of the public or officials who appear before Oireachtas committees also have the right to use either Irish or English.

The Official Report of the proceedings of the Dáil, Seanad and committees is published in the language the speaker chose to use.

Communicating with the public

When people contact the Houses of the Oireachtas, they may do so in Irish or English. We reply to written correspondence in the same language in which it was written.

Our public signage and information booklets are produced in Irish and English. Static pages of the Houses of the Oireachtas website are available in Irish and English and readers can switch easily between the two languages.

Rannóg an Aistriúcháin / Translation Section

Rannóg an Aistriúcháin (the Translation Section) provides translation services for the Houses of the Oireachtas. It produces official translations of the Acts of the Oireachtas and translation material for the Order Papers of both Houses. It also provides a simultaneous interpretation service for the Dáil, Seanad and committees and a Members’ correspondence translation service. An Rannóg also translates statutory instruments, the Standing Orders of the Houses, strategic plans and annual reports of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission and other documents for the Houses of the Oireachtas.

An Rannóg is responsible for the official standard grammar of the Irish language – An Caighdeán Oifigiúil – and maintains glossaries of official terminology used in the Acts. Under the guidance of the Chief Translator, it provides the official versions of the Irish language names of State bodies and schemes featuring in legislation and is the national authority of the State as regards the Irish language version of EU treaties.

An Caighdeán Oifigiúil - the official standard of the Irish language

The Houses of the Oireachtas Translation Section, Rannóg an Aistriúcháin, produces the official standard for writing in the Irish language, called An Caighdeán Oifigiúil.

The Houses of the Oireachtas Translation Section was officially recognised as the authority on grammatical and orthographical matters in 1957, when the Taoiseach asked the chief translator to prepare a manual for publication “as a standard for all official purposes and as a guideline for teachers and for the general public”. That project led to the publication of the Official Standard, (An Caighdeán Oifigiúil - Gramadach na Gaeilge agus Litriú na Gaeilge) in 1958, a Standard which is still in use today.

An Caighdeán Oifigiúil was given statutory status in section 2 of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Act 2013 and it was decided that the first statutory review should be carried out without delay. In September 2014, members of the public and other interested parties were asked to make submissions regarding An Caighdeán Oifigiúil. An advisory committee was also established, which worked tirelessly for a year and a half to identify issues and to make recommendations. The result of this work is the revised edition of An Caighdeán Oifigiúil, published by the Houses of the Oireachtas Service in 2017.

Committee on the Irish Language, Gaeltacht and the Irish-speaking Community

The Committee on the Irish Language, Gaeltacht and the Irish-speaking Community was established to promote the use of Irish in the community, the arts, education, sport, business, the media and politics. It is working towards providing a meaningful and visible reality to the Irish language’s status as Ireland’s first official language. The committee conducts all its business through Irish.

Seachtain na Gaeilge lecture series

2022 | Professor Regina Uí Chollatáin

To celebrate Seachtain na Gaeilge the Houses of the Oireachtas welcomed a special lecture by Professor Regina Uí Chollatáin on Pearse and Irish Language Journalism: An Intellectual Journalist, Educator, and Revolutionary.

You can watch it here.

2021 | Dr. Mary MacDiarmada

To celebrate Seachtain na Gaeilge 2021, the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, Deputy Catherine Connolly, welcomed a special lecture by Dr. Mary MacDiarmada on the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921. She discusses the founding of Dáil Éireann in 1919, the War of Independence and the signing of the Treaty.

You can watch it here.

2019 | Cuan Ó Seireadáin

On 12 March 2019, Cuan Ó Seireadáin looked at the importance of 6 Harcourt Street in the first meetings of Dáil Éireann in 1919.

You can watch the lecture here.

2018 | Máire Geoghegan-Quinn

The Houses of the Oireachtas marked Seachtain na Gaeilge with a special lecture by Máire Geoghegan-Quinn. The former Minister and European Commissioner spoke about the importance of our national language to her and in her work and about her life and career in Irish and European politics.

You can watch the lecture here.

Statutory position of the Irish language

Constitution of Ireland

The status of the Irish language is set out in Article 8 of the Constitution of Ireland as follows:

1. The Irish language as the national language is the first official language.

2. The English language is recognised as a second official language.

3. Provision may, however, be made by law for the exclusive use of either of the said languages for any one or more official purposes, either throughout the State or in any part thereof.

The Official Languages Act 2003

The Official Languages Act 2003 placed the provision of services in general through Irish by the State on a statutory footing. The aim of the Act is to increase and improve the quantity and quality of services provided for the public through Irish by public bodies. The legislation creates a space for the language in public affairs in Ireland.

Section 6 of the Act deals with the use of official languages in the Houses of the Oireachtas, as follows:

6.—(1) A member of either House of the Oireachtas has the right to use either of the official languages in any debates or other proceedings in that House or of a committee of either House, a joint committee of both Houses or sub-committee of such a committee or joint committee.(2) A person appearing before either House of the Oireachtas or before such a committee, joint committee or sub-committee as aforesaid has the right to use either of the official languages.

(3) Every official report of the debates and other proceedings of the Houses of the Oireachtas shall be published in each of the official languages, except that contributions (whether oral or in writing) in either of the official languages by persons may be published therein solely in that language.

Section 7 of the Act refers to Acts of the Oireachtas:

7.—As soon as may be after the enactment of any Act of the Oireachtas, the text thereof shall be printed and published in each of the official languages simultaneously.

An Coimisinéir Teanga

The Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga was established under the Official Languages Act 2003 as an independent statutory office operating as an ombudsman’s service and as a compliance agency. An Coimisinéir Teanga monitors compliance by public bodies with the provisions of the Official Languages Act 2003.

The European Union

Irish is one of the official languages of the European Union and is a working language of the European Parliament. EU citizens can contact the EU institutions, and receive a reply, in Irish.

Irish became an official working language of the EU in 2007 under Council Regulation (EC) No 920/2005. This means legislation approved by both the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers is translated into Irish, and interpretation from Irish is available at European Parliament plenary sessions and some European Council meetings. A derogation to the regulation provided that not all documents have to be translated into Irish.

In 2015, Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2015/2264 set a definitive schedule for the gradual reduction of the derogation of the Irish language. This reduction is to take place over five years starting from 2016 and ending by January 2022.