About the Member

Séamas Ó Concheanainn, currently Director of Oifig an Choimisinéara Teanga, is  currently overseeing the workings of Oifig an Coimisinéir Teanga.  Rónán Ó Domhnaill, who was An Coimisinéir Teanga, has taken a Commissioners role with the newly formed Coimisiún na Meán since February 2023. 

Rónán Ó Domhnaill was appointed as Language Commissioner on 12 March 2014. He was appointed by the President of Ireland following his nomination by the Government. Both houses of parliament, (Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann), accepted that nomination unanimously.

Rónán has spent sixteen years as a journalist with the national broadcaster in Ireland, RTÉ. He spent eight years as a journalist with Nuacht RTÉ/TG4 before being appointed to the Political Unit of RTÉ. The following year, 2006, he was appointed as Political Correspondent with Nuacht RTÉ/TG4. This role placed much emphasis on reporting and analysing political stories relating to language rights and legislation regarding the Irish language. Rónán also presented political programmes such as The Week in Politics and Leaders Questions.

The stories he has covered include the publication of the Official Languages Act, as well as the Comprehensive Linguistic Study of the Use of Irish in the Gaeltacht and The 20 Year Strategy for The Irish Language 2010-2030.

About the Member’s Office

The Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga was established in 2004, under The Official Languages Act 2003, to monitor the compliance of public bodies with the provisions of that Act. The original 2003 Act was significantly enhanced with the commencement of provisions in the 2021 Amendment Act. The main objective of the Acts is to ensure better availability and a higher standard of public services through the Irish language. The Office enquires into complaints from the public and initiates investigations where it is alleged that public bodies may have failed to comply with the Official Languages Act or other enactments relating to the status or use of Irish. It is the duty of  An Coimisinéir Teanga to ensure that the language rights of the Irish language community are implemented in accordance with the Official Languages Acts (2003 & 2021). 

A written report on every investigation with findings and recommendations is sent to the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, to the public body and to the complainant, as appropriate. Any person affected by the findings and recommendations of the investigation may appeal to the High Court on a point of law within four weeks.

The Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga monitors how public bodies fulfil their duties under the Official Languages Act and how they comply with the provisions of their statutory language schemes under the Act. The Office also provides advice to the public regarding language rights and to public bodies regarding language duties under the Act.

Further details can be found on: www.coimisineir.ie

Key Information on the Language Situation in this Country/Region

Ireland has two official languages ‒ Irish and English. The Irish Constitution provides that the Irish language, as the national language, is the first official language of the country. The English language is recognised as a second official language. In practice, however, it often happened that no effective provision was made to provide services in Irish as well as providing services in English. People who wished to conduct their business in Irish with the State often felt that they had no option except to use English in order to conduct their business properly. The aim of the Official Languages Act 2003 was to improve the quantity and quality of services through Irish from public bodies.

Irish, the indigenous language of Ireland, was spoken by the majority of the population down to the middle of the 19th century. Currently, it is spoken as a community language in “Gaeltacht” areas, mainly along the west coast of Ireland. In 2007, a linguistic study revealed that Irish was the principal community and home language in 24 of the 154 electoral divisions in the Gaeltacht.

Outside the Gaeltacht, Irish is spoken as a minority language throughout Ireland. According to the 2022 Census, 1.87 million people  over the age of three defined themselves as Irish speakers (an increase of 6.4% of the population from 2016 figures of 1.76 million people). The figures for daily speakers however, paints a somewhat different picture - where 71,968 people stated they speak Irish on a daily basis, outside of the Education system (a decline of 2.5% from 2016 figures).

Language rights endure when they are respected. With the revised Act, the inclusion of new language rights presents a significant opportunity for over 500 prescribed public bodies to enhance the quality and accessibility of Irish language services provided to the Irish-speaking community. To encourage proactive efforts from public bodies and raise awareness about the statutory duties and new language rights, the Office progresses a national awareness program for both public bodies and the general public.

The Annual Reports of the Office of An Coimisinéir Teanga which provide a detailed account of the work of the Office since its establishment in 2004 are available on its website at www.coimisineir.ie/Foilseachain