Lack of Irish halts court proceedings
Ireland's Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources
has been accused of “drowning” fishermen in regulations and
of failing to provide those regulations in the Irish language.
At Donegal District Court last week the cases of four trawler owners were
adjourned until January when they will come before an Irish-speaking judge.
The fishermen face a number of charges including failing to make accurate
landing declarations and of failing to fill in their log books accurately.
The four men charged under the Fisheries Acts are: Sean Flaherty from
Co. Galway, Michael Cavanagh of Co. Donegal, Brendan Gill also from Greencastle
and John O’Donnell from Cloghane in Tralee, Co. Kerry.
At the district court sitting solicitor Paudge Dorrian argued that his
client Sean Flaherty — a native Irish speaker — was re-questing
that all the documentation concerning the charges including the summonses
and book of evidence be provided to him in the Irish language.
Mr Dorrian referred to a Supreme Court ruling that stated that all the
acts of the Oireachtas must be provided in Irish.
He added that the State was to appeal that decision to the Supreme Court
but had not done so since.
He said: “I am entitled to all statements, statutes and book of
evidence being given to me in Irish.
“It is my constitutional right.
“I know it is going to cause delay but according to the Supreme
Court judgement a delay of this nature is not inexcusable.
“The Department is trying to drown fishermen in regulations, yet
they are not carrying out their statutory duties by providing these regulations
in Irish.”
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