Students have taken to social media to protest Trinity’s violation of the Official Languages Act. Pádraig Mac Brádaigh, the Students’ Union Irish officer, states that the violations are widespread.
Under the Official Languages Act of 2003, public bodies are required to respond to written and electronic communications in the language in which they were received. According to the act’s official guidebook, “The Act directly provides that public bodies have a duty to reply to communications, in writing or by electronic mail, in the official language in which the communication was received”. However, students say that Trinity has failed to uphold these requirements, particularly within the academic registry.
TCDSU Oifigeach Gaeilge Pádraig Mac Brádaigh recounted an incident earlier this year in which a student emailed the academic registry in Irish and was “told to email them in English.” He also shared his own experience receiving responses in English from multiple college bodies despite emailing them in Irish. He stated, “I’ve received correspondence in English from a large variety of bodies within the college,” adding that even the senior dean himself responded in English. The University Times has seen the aforementioned correspondence.
Students also raised concerns about the lack of Irish signage around campus. While the official guidebook states that “where a public body communicates in writing or by electronic mail with the general public or a class of the general public for the purpose of furnishing information to the public or the class, the body shall ensure that the communication is in the Irish language or in the English and Irish languages,” Mac Brádaigh pointed to the academic registry’s failure to comply with this. He noted that earlier this year during the exam time “all of the exam locations were signposted with English signage” and did not include Irish. Mac Brádaigh calls this a direct “violation of the law,” which he says is “discriminatory towards Irish students”. Mac Brádaigh in response, “went around with a marker and wrote the Irish on them.”
While Mac Brádaigh says the academic registry is preparing new signs for the upcoming Hillary term and “progress is being made,” he notes that “when it comes to Irish legislation, the response is always reactive rather than proactive.” Mac Brádaigh notes that Trinity is not the only public body not complying with the law. One example he mentions is the dental hospital, which is associated with Trinity. He states that the hospital’s compliance is “worse than other buildings associated with Trinity College” and mentions this is the “only building associated with Trinity that I’ve seen where there is no Irish signage language at all”.
In response to these concerns, Mac Brádaigh says that he has met with estates and is currently preparing a presentation for the college Bursar about the lack of Irish language signage. While he says that the states and facilities say they don’t have money to replace a lot of signs he believes, “That’s not an excuse; it’s the law, so Trinity has to have enough money”. He warns that if funding is not secured from the Bursar, then the issue will escalate, stating, “If we do not get the money from the Bursar, then I will submit a huge report to An Coimisinéir Teanga detailing extensive violations of the law that Trinity has done within this year, or they will be facing a serious investigation by the An Coimisinéir Teanga”.
Mac Brádaigh further states that he has done his due diligence, spending months trying to cooperate with Trinity in hopes that they will find a solution. He states, if the college still “doesn’t provide this funding” then that “would make any complaint to the An Coimisinéir Teanga far, far worse because it would show that college is simply not willing to fulfill its obligations under the legislation.”
College has been contacted for comment.
