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Midlands County Council Failed To Meet Irish Obligations

Friday, 21 April 2023 17:21

Signs across the county were found to not follow regulations.

Offaly County Council failed to follow it's Irish language obligations, a new investigation has found.

Three complaints were made to the Language Commissioner between October 2017 and January 2019, relating to a lack of Irish on the local authority's signs.

Offaly County Council were found to have breached the Official Languages Act with regard to signs in Edenderry, Tullamore and Birr, and the Road Traffic Act withy regard to parking signs in Edenderry.

An investigation was launched after the council failed to provide a complete response to the complaints, which were made between 2017 and 2019.

Oifig an Choimisnéara Teanga, who conducted the process, said that they were unaware "of any other public body which has shown such complete disregard."

The recommendations included correcting the signs to comply with all regulations within three months, and a review of Offaly County Council's communications response system due to the delays and a lack of replies.

To view the full report click here

In a statement to Midlands 103, Offaly County Council has responded to the report:

 

"Offaly County Council notes the contents of An Coimisinéir Teanga’s Annual Report 2022 and confirms that there has been ongoing engagement with An Coimisinéir Teanga regarding complaints received.

Our procedure for dealing with complaints received from An Coimisinéir Teanga has been reviewed and strengthened. 

The new procedure will ensure an efficient response when dealing with future correspondence with An Coimisinéir Teanga."

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