A chara - In a republic which asserts its national language to be Irish, and in which the banking industry is such an important part of everyday life, is it not hypocritical that a citizen of that republic should be denied the opportunity of opening a bank account, in the first official language?
Apparently" the Irish banks do not have sineadh fadas on their keyboards, and it would be too expensive to make such a printing provision for the few who might wish to sign their money away, as Gaeilge. One can, of course, have one's name written in pigeon Irish on cheques and credit cards, provided one is agreeable to forego the Gaelic punctuation.
In my own case, I merely wished to have my name written in Irish, and to be able to sign my name in Irish, but I quickly learned that such a minor requirement was beyond the scope of an industry which annually extracts hundreds of millions of pounds in profits from the citizens of this republic - a republic whose first official language is Irish. Comparisons with a certain Irish daily newspaper, which has installed appropriate technology to permit full punctuation in Irish, as a service and courtesy to even, its most casual patron, did not impress one bank executive to whom I took my complaint.
Surely it is not unreasonable to expect a more supportive attitude to our native culture, of which the Irish language is the key constituent? Is it not beyond time that our banks began to reinvest some of their considerable profits by extending a positive recognition to the Irish language, and to those citizens who may wish to make that language, to a small extent at least, a part of their everyday lives? - Is mise, le meas,
Ath an Ghainimh,
Co Ath Cliath.