This week, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will make her State of the European Union address, in which she will set out the EU’s priorities for the year ahead and look back at the year gone by.
But this is not just an important moment for the EU.
It is an important moment for the Irish language.
Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú is delighted to learn that, for the first time, active Irish language interpretation will be provided of both the President’s address and the debate that follows.
While speeches made in Irish during Strasbourg plenary sessions are normally interpreted into English, this time all those speaking English will be heard in Irish too.
In a statement, MEP Ní Mhurchú said the following:
This is yet another step in the right direction. While there is still a derogation in place until 2029 which means that Irish has secondary status as an official EU language, the Irish Presidency is creating real momentum around the language. Ministers are addressing people in Irish in Brussels and in Ireland, events are being held both about Irish and through Irish, and more of my fellow MEPs are making an effort to speak it.
Earlier this year, Ní Mhurchú warmly welcomed the news that four new Irish-language interpreters had successfully passed an interinstitutional accreditation test.
She has been a trailblazer for the Irish language since day one and makes every effort to use it when there is interpretation available.
The Ireland South MEP is hopeful that there will be more events with active interpretation of Irish in the future, and that this progress will not be limited to the months that the Ireland is at the helm of the Presidency of the Council of the EU.
In the meantime, Ní Mhurchú encourages fellow MEPs, as well as Ministers who are the core focus of the Irish Presidency, to continue speaking Irish at whatever level they can.
She believes that this is key to moving beyond the secondary status that the language currently has.
