http___www.politico.eu_article_ar-iarraidh-gaeilgeoiri_amp__1.xml
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Few people understand it, even fewer can articulate it and millions of euros are spent promoting it — no, not the inner workings of the European Parliament, but the Irish language. Around 100,000 people speak Gaeilge on a daily basis, out of an Irish population of just over 4.5 million, but despite the small numbers the European Parliament is pushing ahead with an EU and Irish pledge to make it a full working language of the bloc. However, it can’t find enough people with the language skills to match its ambitious plans, despite the fact that studying the language is compulsory in Ireland until the age of 18. “There are not enough interpreters on the Irish market,” said a senior Parliament official with knowledge of the EU’s translation and interpretation departments. “They don’t have enough trained people to pass the concours [the tests EU staff must take to get a permanent job] so, for example, many in translation end up being recruited on temporary contracts.” This year the Parliament has advertised 26 new posts for Irish speakers, recruited 14 Irish speaking contract staffers and is expected to splash out an estimated €3.7 million to cover the costs of translation and interpretation, training of Irish officials and subscription to Irish-language databases to comply with the new linguistic requirement, according to a leaked 2018 budget report from the Parliament’s top staffer, Secretary-General Klaus Welle. The number of documents to be translated into Irish “should increase gradually every year between January 2017 and January 2021.” The struggle to find qualified Irish translators dates back to 2007, when it became an official working language of the EU. Because of recruitment and resource concerns, temporary derogations were put in place from 2007 to 2011 and from 2012 to 2016, limiting the amount of translation and interpretation needed. Many Irish translators were hired to work exclusively on regulations adopted jointly by the European Parliament and the Council. Although the Council decided in 2015 to extend these exemptions by another five years from January 2017, it also declared that the derogation system would be phased out gradually in order to make Irish a full working language of the EU starting on January 1, 2022. “No later than June 2021, the Commission shall report to the Council on whether the Union institutions have sufficient available capacity, relative to the other official languages” to put Irish at the same level as other EU languages, the Council said. Welle’s preliminary report on the assembly’s 2018 budget said the number of documents to be translated into Irish “should increase gradually every year between January 2017 and January 2021.” Some Parliament officials say the recruitment drive has become more urgent in the wake of the Brexit vote. With Ireland likely to suffer more than any other EU country after the U.K. leaves the bloc, they believe it is important to avoid marginalizing the Gaeilgeoir community. According to figures provided by the Parliament, its Irish translation unit has 23 vacant posts. In addition, there are two staff interpreters “with passive Irish,” a Parliament spokesperson said — meaning they can understand it but wouldn’t be able to use it at the required level. The Parliament currently has 14 freelance interpreters “with Irish in their language combination,” of whom “11 are regularly available for the Parliament.” The number of qualified and accredited freelance interpreters in Irish “remains extremely limited,” the spokesperson said. Interpretation is currently only provided from Irish into English during the Parliament’s plenary sessions in Strasbourg. “There are currently no plans to recruit staff interpreters for Irish,” an official said. The European Commission currently has two interpreters with “passive Irish” and three lawyer-linguists who work in Irish and other languages, according to a Commission official. Since Irish became a language of the EU, the European Personnel Selection Office has sought to recruit Irish language translators, lawyer-linguists and assistants. Despite the low numbers, Ireland has been pushing hard to come up with attractive job offers for qualified Irish speakers. About 500 Irish people are employed by the European Commission, including contractors. There are 11 Irish MEPs. An official from Ireland’s Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs — the Gaeltacht being the Irish-speaking region — told POLITICO the Irish government had spent more than €13 million to increase “the number of qualified graduates who can meet EU recruitment needs,” including by “educating over 500 students in advanced Irish language skills.” The official said “a new tranche of funding amounting to €3.87 million for this initiative was agreed for the period 2015-2016 to 2023-2024.” “It is estimated that 677 students will graduate from these courses over this period,” he added. About 500 Irish people are employed by the European Commission, including contractors. There are 11 Irish MEPs, including three members of the Sinn Féin party, one of the main advocates of the use of Irish language in Ireland. In 2015, Sinn Féin MEP Liadh Ní Riada went on “strike” for the duration of Seachtain na Gaeilge, the “Irish Week” which generally runs from March 1-17, refusing to use English in the Parliament to protest against the lack of Irish in the EU. “It saddens me that as a public representative, an Irish person, and a woman from the Gaeltacht who grew up with Irish, that I cannot use my own language as I go about my work,” Ní Riada said at the International Conference on Language Rights in Dublin in 2015. Tags: Brussels bubble, EU staff, Irish politics, Society and culture
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Ní thuigtear í go forleathan agus is annamh a labhraítear í, cé go gcaitear an-chuid airgid len í a chur chun cinn — ní hí obair na Parlaiminte atá faoi chaibidil againn, ach an Ghaeilge. Labhraíonn thart ar 100,000 duine an Ghaeilge go laethúil, ceatadán beag de dhaonra na hÉireann – 4.5 milliún – ach in ainneoin sin, tá iarrachtaí ar bun ag Parlaimint na hEorpa le go mbainfeadh an Ghaeilge lán-stádas oifigiúil mar theanga oibre an Aontais Eorpaigh amach, mar atá geallta ag an Aontas agus ag Éirinn le blianta. Tá dúshlán rompu, áfach: níl ag éirí leo daoine leis na scileanna teanga cuí a earcú, cé go ndéanann scoláirí na hÉireann staidéar ar an teanga go dtí go gcríochnaíonn said a gcuid oideachais meánscoile. “Níl na hateangairí ann” dar le hOifigeach sinsearach ón bParlaimint a bhfuil cur amach aige ar ranna aistriúcháin agus ateangaireachta an Aontais Eorpaigh. “Níl a dhóthain daoine ann leis an traenáil le tabhairt faoin concours [scrúdú teangan an AE] agus de bharr sin earcaítear daoine ar chonarthaí páirt-aimseartha. I mbliana, d’fhógair an Pharlaimint 26 post nua do Ghaeilgeoirí, earcaíodh 14 ball foirne, agus táthar ag súil go gcaithfear thart ar €3.7 milliún ar chostaisí aistriúcháin, ateangaireachta, traenála agus síntúis — costaisí atá riachtanach le dualgaisí teanga an Aontais a bhaint amach — dar le Oifigeach Parlaiminte, Ard-Runaí Klaus Welle, i dtuarascáil ar bhuiséid 2018 a sceitheadh le déanaí. Tháinig an deacracht le hearcaíocht aistritheoirí Gaeilge chun solais sa bhliain 2007, nuair a tugadh stádas oifigiúil don Ghaeilge mar theanga an Aontais Eorpaigh don chéad uair. Mar gheall ar an deacracht seo, mar aon le heaspa achmhainní, cuireadh maolú teanga ar an nGaeilge ón mbliain 2007 go 2011 agus ó 2012 go 2016. Earcaíodh aistritheoirí Gaeilge idir an dá linn le reachtaíocht glactha ag an bParlaimint agus ag an gCoiste a aistriú. Maíonn Welle gur cheart go gcuirtear leis an méid doicméidí a aistreofar “ar bhonn leanúnach, bliain in aghaidh bliana, ó Eanáir 2017 go hEanáir 2021.” Cé gur bheartaigh an Coiste ar fhad cúig bliana a chur leis an maolú teanga ó Eanáir 2017, tugadh le fios chomh maith go gcuirfear deireadh leis an gcleachtas seo le go mbeadh an Ghaeilge ina teanga oibre ag gach bonn Eorpach ón gcéad lá den bhliain 2022. “Cuirfidh an Coimisiún Eorpach in iúl don Choiste má tá éirithe le hinstitiúidí an Aontais an stádas ceart a bhaint amach don Ghaeilge” i mí an Mheitheamh 2021, dar leis an gCoiste. Mar a cuireadh síos sa tuarascáil ar bhuiséad an Aontais 2018, maíonn Welle gur cheart go gcuirtear leis an méid doicméidí a aistreofar “ar bhonn leanúnach, bliain in aghaidh bliana, ó Eanáir 2017 go hEanáir 2021.” Dar le cúpla Oifigeach Parlaiminte, beidh borradh faoin earcaíocht tar éis na Breatimeachta. Tuigtear go mbeidh tionchar níos diúltaí ar Éirinn ag imeacht na Breataine ón Aontas, agus creidtear go bhfuil sé tábhachtach cinnte a dhéanamh de nach gcuirfear pobal na Gaeilge in áit na leathphingine. Dar le figiúirí ón bParlaimint, tá 23 folúntas ann in Aonad an Aistiúcháin Ghaeilge. Chomh maith leis sin, thug urlabhraí Parlaiminte le fios go bhfuil beirt ateangairí ar an bhfoireann le “tuiscint” ar an nGaeilge acu – rud a fhágann, áfach, nach mbeadh sé de chumas acu í a úsáid go sásúil ina gcuid oibre. Tá 14 ateangaire fostaithe go páirt-aimseartha ag an bParlaimint “leis an nGaeilge mar chuid de na teangacha atá ar a dtoil acu,” agus 11 ina measc atá “ar fáil go rialta don Pharlaimint.” Tá “easpa” ateangairí cáilithe i gcónaí, áfach. Is ag seisiún iomlánach na Parlaiminte amháin, agus ó Ghaeilge go Béarla amháin, a chuirtear an tseirbhís ateangaireachta ar fáil. “Níl pleananna ann tuilleadh ateangairí Gaeilge a chur leis an bhfoireann” a tugadh le fios. Tá beirt ateangairí le tuiscint ar an nGaeilge acu, agus triúr dlítheangeolaithe (a oibríonn sa Ghaeilge agus i dteangacha eile), fostaithe ag an gCoimisiúin. Ó tugadh stádas oifigiúil don Ghaeilge san Aontas Eorpach, d’eagraigh EPSO dhá chomórtas earcaíochta do gach post: aistritheoirí, dlítheangeolaithe agus cuntóirí teanga. In ainneoin an líon bhig postanna san Aontas Eorpach, tá tréaniarracht á déanamh ag rialtas na hÉireann Gaeilgeoirí cáilithe a chur ar fáil don Bhruiséil. Chuir Oifigeach ó Roinn na Gaeltachta in iúl do POLITICO go bhfuil os cionn €13 milliún caite ag rialtas na hÉireann ar oideachas na Gaeilge, le cinntiú go mbeidh na scileanna cuí ag os cionn 500 scoláire le cur isteach ar postanna Gaeilge an Aontais Eorpaigh amach anseo. Tá thart ar 500 Éireannach fostaithe ag an gCoimisiúin Eorpach, daoine ar chonarthaí páirt-aimseartha san áireamh. Tá 11 Feisire Eorpach. Dúirt an tOifigeach go bhfuil sé beartaithe €3.87 milliún a chaitheamh ar an tionscnamh seo sa tréimshe 2015-2016 go 2023-2024. Ceaptar go mbronnfar céim ar 677 scoláire a thabharfadh faoi na cúrsaí seo le linn na tréimshe sin. Tá EPSO fós i mbun earcaíochta leis na folúntais aistritheoirí agus cuntóirí teanga a líonadh. Tá thart ar 500 Éireannach fostaithe ag an gCoimisiúin Eorpach, daoine ar chonarthaí páirt-aimseartha san áireamh. Tá 11 Feisire Eorpach, triúr ball de Shinn Féin ina measc. Déanann Sinn Féin stocaireacht ar son na teanga go rialta in Éirinn agus san Eoraip. Sa bhliain 2015, chuaigh Feisire Eorpach de chuid Shinn Féin, Liadh Ní Riada, ar “stailc teanga” le linn “Seachtain na Gaeilge”, tréimshe ama i mí an Mhárta ina ndéantar comóradh ar an nGaeilge ar fud an domhain. Dhiúltaigh Ní Riada an Béarla a úsáid le linn na Seachtaine, lena míshástacht leis an maolú teanga a chur in iúl. Mar a dúirt Ní Riada agus í ag labhairt di ag Comhdháil Idirnáisiúnta ar Chearta Teanga i mBaile Átha Cliath sa bhliain 2015, “cúis aifeála” a bhí ann di mar ionadaí poiblí agus mar bhean a rugadh agus a tógadh sa Ghaeltacht, leis an nGaeilge mar theanga dhúchais aici, nach raibh deis aici a “teanga féin” a úsáid agus í i mbun oibre. Translated into Irish by Eoin Ó CatháinTags: EU staff, Irish politics