Courts Service aims to be ‘genuinely bilingual’
The Courts Service has published its first Irish-language strategy, aimed at turning the body into “a genuinely bilingual organisation”.
The strategy, covering the three years up to 2028, contains 44 actions across six priority areas and provides what the service describes as “a vision and clear sense of direction” for the development of the Irish language across the next three years.
Strategy manager Dónal Ó Gallachóir (bainisteoir straitéise Gaeilge) said that the goal was for the public to experience “an active bilingual offering without delay or difficulty”.
Parity
The Courts Service plans to develop a centralised Irish-language office, improve the quality and availability of an Irish-language service, and bring about parity between English and Irish in all service provision.
It says that it will work to actively recruit those with Irish-language skills, alongside the development of a “comprehensive” tailored Irish-language training programme.
The courts body also pledges to develop a framework for providing an Irish-language service to the public online, in person, and on the phone.
Increased awareness
The organisation says that, while developing the strategy, it has identified several areas that need to be addressed:
- Staff require increased awareness about Irish-language obligations and requirements,
- There is a need for more court registrars with competency in the Irish language,
- Staff members who have Irish lack the confidence to deliver the same service they do in English, through Irish, and
- Staff and judges need more support with the translation and proofreading of written material in Irish.
The courts body is also to investigate ways of providing a guarantee of availability of Irish-language court interpreters for all hearings where required.
The strategy sets out actions to be taken in several areas – including an audit of signage currently in place, and a register of all staff with Irish-language competency.
Support for judges
It also includes a commitment to provide a support and request structure between members of the judiciary and the Courts Service in relation to the Irish language, particularly on the translation and proofreading of judgments.
Other commitments in the strategy include the translation of legacy materials not available in Irish to date and identifying and addressing information and systems not available in Irish due to technological constraints.
The body will also consider an awareness campaign to encourage the public to think about their preferred language choice when dealing with the Courts Service.
The Courts Service is also planning to hold an annual Irish-language half-day conference, starting in 2027.