Coimisiún na Gaeltachta (), abbreviated CnaG, was an
Irish government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
agency which worked from 2000 to 2002 to draft recommendations to strengthen the role of the
Irish language
Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
in the
Gaeltacht
A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home.
The districts were first officially recognised ...
, the
Irish-language
Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenou ...
-speaking area of Ireland. It was established at the instigation of
Éamon Ó CuÃv, the Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, and its work completed under the guidance of his successor,
Mary Coughlan. The Irish Government approved the publication of the Commission's report, without commitment.
For centuries, there has been a steady decline in the number of native Irish speakers in Ireland. These speakers are now concentrated in scattered rural areas known collectively as the Gaeltacht and recent reports claim that in several of these areas Irish is no longer effectively a community language. The establishment, subsequent reporting, and relative inaction on the recommendations of the Commission should be seen against this background.
The Commission reported that it was "of the view that it will not be possible to maintain the Gaeltacht as an area in which Irish remains a community language unless a fundamental change occurs in the way Irish is treated and in the status of Irish in the rest of the country." In its work, it focussed primarily on a strategic approach to finding an effective implementation structure which would allow its recommendations to be realised. It proposed a structure which they hoped would ensure an advisory process at planning level and which would be community friendly and language-centred at the operational level - this would include the establishment of a Board of Independent Commissioners and the restructuring of
Údarás na Gaeltachta.
Other recommendations of the Report were:
# The immediate enactment of an Official Languages Equality Bill;
# The provision of a comprehensive education system in which priority would be given to Irish as the first language of the Gaeltacht;
# The establishment of a dedicated Third Level Education Unit for Irish language sociolinguistic studies and language planning;
# The development and implementation of a National Plan for Irish.
There was an earlier Coimisiún na Gaeltachta in 1926, and in 1963 there was a Government Commission on the Restoration of Irish.
The 1926 report was later criticized for not paying sufficient attention to the role of economically driven emigration of Irish-speakers from the Gaeltacht to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
References
External links
Report of the Gaeltacht CommissionIreland.com: Coimisiún na Gaeltachta*
ttps://listserv.heanet.ie/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0205&L=old-irish-l&T=0&P=8153 Irish Times article on Report
About the 1926 Coimisiún na Gaeltachta
*https://web.archive.org/web/20070927223756/http://www.coislife.ie/books/academic/dich2.htm Cois Life: DÃchoimisiúnú Teanga: Coimisiún na Gaeltachta 1926 by John Walsh]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coimisiun Na Gaeltachta
2000 establishments in Ireland
2002 disestablishments in Ireland
Government agencies established in 2000
Government agencies disestablished in 2002
Government agencies of the Republic of Ireland
Irish language organisations
Defunct government agencies of Ireland
Department of Culture, Communications and Sport