Sir, - It was interesting to see that, among the many wonderful initiatives contained in the recent supplement produced on behalf of the Courts Service, there wasn't a word about the Irish language.
Although many people in the courts are sympathetic to both Irish and those who wish to use it, the system itself is hostile. One regularly finds Irish-speaking judges hearing Irish-language cases without the benefit of a registrar who speaks Irish, or vice versa. Court districts and circuits straddle the boundaries of the Gaeltacht rather than being coterminous with it.
There isn't a courtroom in the country which is equipped with even the most rudimentary simultaneous translation facilities. Indeed, anyone who tries to conduct business in Irish with county registrars or the central office, or tries to file Irish-language documents or obtain basic forms should be ready for additional delay, cost and frustration.
Solving these problems need not cost a penny of the enormous budget available to the Courts Service.
What it does need is the will to put in place the administrative changes to ensure that those who live in the Gaeltacht or wish to live and work through Irish can reasonably do so. - Yours, etc.,
Kathleen O'Reilly, Poles, Cavan.