Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

As regards our position during the discussions on the European constitution, the status of a number of languages, Basque, Catalan and Galician, was raised and it was agreed that the treaty would be translated into these languages, which is similar to the position regarding the Irish language. A declaration on minority languages was also agreed but there was no question of reopening the issue of Article 1 of the 1958 treaty.

The Government made a decision to pursue this issue in July last and since then significant progress has been achieved. Our representatives in Brussels have made direct contact with all the member states and there has been a degree of positive reaction towards and understanding of our position regarding the Irish language. At the same time, however, the question of the status of other minority languages that do not have recognition in the European Union also arises. We will need to overcome this issue given that unanimity is essential in this regard.

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