This article is from page 6 of the 2011-03-22 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
THE second highest number of complaints made to the Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga came from Clare, a new report shows.
Of complaints received by Seán Ó Cuirreáin’s office 9.5 per cent came from Clare, compared to 9 per cent in Galway, 6 per cent in Kerry, 4 per cent in Donegal and 3 per cent in Mayo. The highest number of complaints (41 per cent) were made by people in Dublin.
The report looked at the level of service provided through Irish to customers by public service bodies.
The report states that in one instance, “An Coimisinéir Teanga decided, as a result of an investigation, that Iarnród Éireann was in contravention of its statutory duties in relation to certain signage erected in Ennis, County Clare.”
The report explains, “A series of complaints were made to the Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga with regard to various Iarnród Éireann signs, alleging that they were not in compliance with the language requirements in signage legislation. The complaints concerned the signage at train stations, in car parks and at a new level crossing on the western route between Galway and Ennis.”
According to the report, “Based on the case put forward by Iarnród Éireann, An Coimisinéir Teanga considered it likely that these problems with the signage had arisen because of changes that had taken place over the years and because of misunderstandings in relation to the legislation.
“Iarnród Éireann indicated in its reply that ‘the signs included in the investigation are in place for many years’ (translation) and ‘generally the signage at level crossings are in English’ (translation). The investigation did not accept that either of these two arguments could be accepted as an excuse for neglecting to make the necessary corrections.
According to Mr Ó Cuireáin, “This investigation could have been avoided completely and the matter could have been dealt with on an informal basis if the public body had put its position in writing at the start.”
Despite the criticism, one Irish language activist in Ennis has welcomed efforts by Iarnród Éireann to make all signs bilingual.
Announcements on trains are now being made in Irish while upgraded signage has been placed at ticket offices, car parks and buses. The man, who did not wish to be named, said, “Another first for the town. The growing presence of Irish at Ennis station will surely contribute to the sustainability of the language through increased visibility and status.”