The Government's decision to seek official status for the Irish language in the European Union is one of the most significant acts of language maintenance that this, or any other Government, has undertaken in recent years. Irish would be accorded its place amongst Europe's working languages, assuming the application is agreed. That is in line with national policy since the State was founded.
The reaction of Irish language organisations to the news is, not surprisingly, one of delight. It is a decision which will greatly enhance the status of Irish at home and abroad, and give the lie, once again, to the charge that it has no role to play in the modern world.
The small lobby group, Stádas, has pulled off a remarkable feat. They identified the issue, put it before the people and politicians and won the argument handsomely. Fine Gael, the Labour Party, the Green Party, Sinn Féin and the SDLP all supported the measure. Credit, too, must be paid to the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Mr Eamon Ó Cuív, an able advocate for Irish at Cabinet once again.
While Irish speakers will celebrate the promotion of Irish from treaty to one of official and working status, they will know that the change, of itself, will not secure the future of the language. It is important, therefore, that the work of Irish language groups is constantly monitored, assessed and questioned critically.
While it is satisfying to note, for example, that the State's first Coimisinéir Teanga, Mr Seán Ó Cuirreáin, is beginning to make his presence felt, others have yet to prove their worth. The Government's advisory group, Coiste Comhairleach na Gaeilge, has so many organisations involved in its decision-making process that it will struggle to become the dynamic body needed to lead language development in the State.
The cross-border language board founded under the Belfast Agreement, Foras na Gaeilge, remains becalmed and directionless and the vexed question of what constitutes a Gaeltacht area must be answered sooner rather than later. In addition, the place of Irish in the educational system - most particularly, the development of Gaeltacht-based and Irish-medium third level courses - needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
In the meantime, however, the Government's decision to seek official status for Irish in the enlarged EU is a mark of confidence in the language as part of Ireland's national culture and heritage. This supplements the official recognition already given to Irish; but even if agreed cannot in itself ensure that the language will survive. That will take a cultural, voluntary and political effort of a different order of magnitude over the coming generation.