More EU jobs available as Irish becomes official EU language

With Irish gaining full status as an official language of the European Union this week, this will give more opportunities to gain employment throughout the many inner sanctums of Brussels in the months and years ahead.

Former Donegal MEP, Pat the Cope Gallagher, who was a great promoter of the Irish language while a member of the European Parliament said,“I very much welcome the official EU recognition of the Irish language. My first contribution as an MEP back in 1994 was in Irish.

"To make it successful, I would hope that all the Irish MEPs would speak Irish in parliament at every opportunity.”    

Former Donegal MEP, Pat the Cope Gallagher

Since Monday last, January 1, as a full official language, all documents now published by the EU must be translated into Irish. 

Over the past five years the number of Irish translators in Europe has increased to about 200 and this will increase significantly with the news that Irish has become an official language of the EU. 

A derogation, in place since 2007, limited the amount of material published through Irish by the EU Institutions.  But since 2015, the scope of this derogation has been gradually reducing as the capacity for the translation of Irish within the EU Institutions has increased, the culmination of which happened this week. 

The Minister for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne, TD, said that the volume of Irish language translations has risen almost six fold since 2016, from 8,000 to almost 46,000 by October 2021. 

President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins said:

“This full status is an important recognition at international level of our specific identity as a people with a distinctive language of our own that we use alongside all the other languages we use and respect. 

“We have, in this coming year not only a responsibility, but a joyful opportunity to ensure that our native language is available and valued by our future generations. The Irish language is that of us. Let us take this opportunity to make it part of all of our lives. Our young people are showing how it carries no burden of any exclusion or dismissal of others. Every generation can be part of our shared Irish, European, global multiple identities.”

Career pathways and options within the European Union can be found on the website EUJobs - Department of Foreign Affairs www.dfa.ie .

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