Madam, - Your Editorial "The way we use Irish" (November 27th) refers to "a series of directives" allegedly signed on October 2nd by the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Éamon Ó Cuív, in relation to the use of Irish in stationery, signage and public announcements by State bodies from January 1st 2009.
No such directives are currently in place. The Minister has, however, published a "draft" of proposed regulations for consultation, which may or may not be amended during that process.
The functions of this office include advising public bodies on their obligations under the Official Languages Act and informing the public of their rights under this legislation. The factual errors in your Editorial will not help and may lead to further confusion in the area of rights and obligations.
It should be pointed out that no compulsion whatsoever would be placed on individual members of the public with regard to any regulations made in this area; rather, the State would simply require its own agencies to acknowledge the existence of the Irish language.
The real objective is to create a place and space for the language in the public affairs of this country, making it less marginal and more relevant outside the schoolyard gate.
It should further be pointed out that voluntary guidelines published in 1993 in an attempt to encourage State bodies to increase their customer services in Irish were generally ignored by the vast majority of those agencies. This is what has led to the requirement to have the matters addressed in legislation.
Another publication has referred to the fact that no one purchased the Irish-language version of last year's Budget documents. However, these documents can be downloaded free from the Department of Finance's website. One need not be a financial wizard to figure out that it is often difficult to sell products which are also distributed free.
Finally, in relation to exempting some State agencies from this legislation, you refer to the Crisis Pregnancy Agency. Being from the Gaeltacht or speaking Irish does not prevent a woman from having a crisis pregnancy and requiring the help and advice of such an important State agency. - Is mise,
SEÁN Ó CUIRREÁIN, An Coimisinéir Teanga, An Spidéal, Co na Gaillimhe.