Lorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As clearly outlined by my colleague, Senator Mark Daly, it is clear from Arlene Foster's disgraceful comments yesterday on the Irish language that it is coming under attack north of the Border. From speaking to European colleagues, it has come to my attention that the Irish language may also come under attack in the European Union as a result of Brexit. As the Government has decided that the Taoiseach is the Minister for Brexit, I request his presence in the Chamber in the coming days to discuss this worrying prospect. Currently, there are 24 official languages of the European Union, Irish being the official language of Ireland. The EU institutions currently use three languages, namely, English, French and German, in conducting its everyday business. English is by far the dominant language, with 80% of documents written in it. The next most popular language is French, at 7%. When the United Kingdom exits the European Union, no country will have English as its official language. The talk is that France and Germany will push to have their languages become more prominent in EU institutions and lessen the use of English. As a result of this push, pressure may come on Ireland from other member states eager to maintain the status of English to drop Irish as our official language. Danuta Hübner, the head of the European Parliament's committee on constitutional affairs, has recently warned us of this prospect. The Wall Street Journalhas reported that French and German are being used increasingly since the referendum in June. Therefore, the prospect of Ireland coming under pressure to change our official language is worrying. The Government must guarantee that it will fight to maintain the status of the Irish language in order that it will not be diminished, notwithstanding the pressure that might be exerted on us to change it to facilitate other member countries. As an Irish speaker, I find this prospect worrying. We must protect the status of the Irish language in the European Union. If we do not, it will have a knock-on effect at home.