50,000 Irish language terms on EU database of nine million

Irish is the 14th largest language out of 23 in the EU’s terminology database, the Dáil has heard.

Minister of State for Gaeltacht Affairs Dinny McGinley said the database contained nine million terms in the 23 official EU languages.

The State had spent more than €1.85 million over five years having 50,000 Irish language terms translated for the database.

As a result, “of the 23 official languages Irish is now the 14th biggest language in this EU terminology database”.

Mr McGinley expressed the hope that a derogation on translating all EU legal text into Irish could be lifted next year ahead of the December 2015 target.

He was responding to Fine Gael TD Terence Flanagan who said about 180 jobs could be created in translation services if a derogation on the use of Irish in the EU was lifted.

There would be excellent career opportunities for Irish speakers in EU institutions if the Government acted on the issue, he said.

Irish became an official and working language of the EU in January 2007. But a five-year derogation was put in place to give the Government time to ensure enough competent and skilled staff were trained and available.

The first five-year derogation to 2011 was extended by a further five years to December 2016 but Mr Flanagan said it should be lifted now.

“A failure to lift the derogation would . . . would result in a recruitment deficit when translators are needed,” he said.

Mr McGinley said his department had spent €11 million in funding specialised third-level Irish language course in Ireland in areas such as translation, interpretation, information technology and law.

Mr Flanagan said that by the end of 2012, 243 people had graduated from those courses. “It is important to ensure we keep that skill set in Ireland and that these jobs are created.”