Irish language decision goes way of priest on drink-drive charge

A parish priest and native Irish speaker who is facing trial on drink-driving charges is entitled to declarations that a failure to provide him with certain official documents in Irish breached the State’s constitutional obligations, the High Court has ruled.

Ms Justice Bronagh O’Hanlon said her decision does not prevent the trial of Donnchadh Ó Cuinn proceeding next month at the District Court and also does not affect the work of the District Court “in aon chor” (in any way).

Fr Ó Cuinn, parish priest of Falcarragh, Co Donegal, is charged with driving in excess of the legal limit for alcohol on March 29th, 2014, at Main Street, Letterkenny. He denies the charge.

In judicial review proceedings, he argued, as a native Irish speaker, he is entitled to conduct official business through Irish, his native language, the national language and the first official language of the State.

He claimed the State defendants breached those rights in failing to make available in Irish some official documents, including the relevant District Court rules and Statutory Instrument.

The documents at issue were not available in Irish, only in English, at the time of the alleged offence in March 2014.

Prosecution

Fr Ó Cuinn secured leave in November 2014 to bring the judicial review and a stay on any further step in his prosecution was granted pending the outcome of that.

In her judgment, Ms Justice O’Hanlon said Fr Ó Cuinn was entitled to certain declarations. She also noted his counsel Séamus Ó Tuathail had said, because of how the case proceeded, he was not seeking certain additional reliefs, which had included an order staying any further step in the prosecution until the relevant documents were available in Irish.

The judge said the two declarations granted did not prevent his trial proceeding in the District Court in Letterkenny next January and also do not affect the work of the District Court in any way.

She granted a declaration the Minister for Justice, Ireland and the DPP breached their constitutional obligations in not providing an official translation in the national language, the first official language, of the District Court rules as soon as possible following their publication in English.

She granted a second declaration the statement on which the charge against the applicant depends is not a statement in the form as determined on foot of Statutory Instrument No. 541/2011, or Section 13 of the Road Traffic Act 2010, insofar as it does not answer to the schedule of that instrument especially in its being in English only.