AN action plan to promote the use of Irish within Cork Corporation has been initiated by the local authority. The plan was developed in line with the corporation's policy of promoting bilingualism in the city.
As part of the plan, stationery, signs, advertisements and publications will be bilingual, and a number of offices within the corporation, particularly those which have regular contact with the public, will provide a service in Irish.
The steering group established to oversee the plan will have a specific agenda each year and funding will be provided by City Hall to ensure its success.
"It is our intention to offer members of the public a chance to communicate in their preferred language and to encourage the use of Irish. This does not mean that inquiries or requests in Irish will take precedence over applications in English. All our dealings with the public will be carried out on an equal basis.
"While we have always had the facility to deal with issues and inquiries in Irish, this service has not been highlighted, and our work, both internally and externally, has been conducted predominantly in English. This plan is a means of bringing the Irish language more into the public domain and putting it on an equal footing with English," said Mr Aodan O Laoire of the corporation's Oifigeach Gaeilge.
Speaking at the launch of the plan recently, Micheal O Muircheartaigh, the broadcaster, called for an executive unit to be established within the Civil Service to oversee the progress of a new approach to language planning.