Following the publication of the annual report of An Coimisinéir Teanga (Irish Language Commisioner), Westmeath County Council has emerged as one of Ireland’s 31 councils which are not fully compliant with the guidelines set out by the office.
In his 58-page report, Coimisinéir Rónán Ó Domhnaill outlined the results of the various investigations which were carried out by his office, since he took on the Government-appointed role in March 2014.
“The main duty bestowed upon me by the Houses of the Oireachtas is to utilise all powers under my jurisdiction to ensure that public bodies comply with their obligations under the Official Languages Act. I intend to continue doing that without fear or favour,” said An tUasal Ó Domhnaill in his introduction.
“I also intend to draw attention to the weaknesses, as I see them, pertaining to the statutory protection offered to the language rights of citizens. These language rights, and my ability to protect them, depend on the legislation enacted by the Houses of the Oireachtas. There is a historic opportunity now to learn from the lessons of the past 10 years regarding the implementation of the Act and to establish a legislative framework which supports the basic language rights of citizens in a more effective way.”
In his report, Coimisinéir Ó Domhnaill critisised the manner in which local councils carry out their business in Irish and English, with particular emphasis placed on the use of recorded announcements by councils.
“As part of the audit programme undertaken by the Office in 2014 it was decided to investigate the usage of recorded announcements by local authorities. The aim of the audit was to reach a general opinion regarding the level of compliance with the regulations by local authorities. Phone calls were made at different times to the main offices of local authorities, during work hours and after work hours, as well as calls to housing departments and libraries after normal work hours.”
The findings of the investigations found that of all 31 councils in Ireland, only two were fully compliant.
“Donegal and Laois County Councils were the only authorities that were using recorded oral announcements which were in compliance with the regulations. We are in contact with the local authorities whose recorded oral announcements weren’t compliant to ensure that they are compliant within a reasonable period of time. Their progress will be reviewed during 2015.”
Amongst the complaints received were 40 complaints regarding the Road Safety Authority and 17 complaints regarding Irish Water, along with 3 complaints about the National Car Testing Service, the Teaching Council and the Property Services Regulatory Authority.
