Ahern welcomes appointments to the Irish Legal Terms Advisory Committee

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Dermot Ahern, T.D., welcomed today the appointment by the Government of 7 new members to the Irish Legal Terms Advisory Committee.

The Government also approved the appointment of the Director of the Central Unit for Translation of Statutory Instruments as an ex-officio member of the Committee – the Director is being recruited at present.

The new appointments include:

·        a new Chairman of the Committee, the Hon. Mr. Justice Adrian Hardiman, of the Supreme Court,
·        His Honour Judge Rory MacCabe of the Circuit Court,
·        Judge Uinsin MacGruairc of the District Court,
·        Mr. Vivian Uíbh Eachach, Chief-Translator, Rannóg an Aistriúcháin,
·        Mr. Caoimhín Ó hUiginn, former Assistant-Secretary, Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform,
·        Dr. Micheál Ó Cearúil, Translator, Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and
·        Ms. Fidelma Ní Ghallchobhair, Secretary, An Coiste Téarmaíochta.

Welcoming the appointments, Minister Ahern said "The Government has made the appointments at this time in order to facilitate the verification of the translation of the Forms contained in Rules of Court translated by my Department. Since 2003, my Department has been engaged in the major project of translating the Rules of Court into Irish. We published the Irish translation of the District Court Rules, 1997, in 2004 and will shortly publish the translation of the Circuit Court Rules, 2001.

The Committee’s verification process gives an authority and quality assurance to the Irish translation of Rules of Court. The new members will assist the Committee focus on the verification of Forms contained in these translations."

5 August 2009

Notes for Editors 

The Irish Legal Terms Advisory Committee was established under the Irish Legal Terms Act, 1945. That Act authorises ‘the provision, for the purposes of law, of standard equivalents in the Irish language for certain terms’ and provides for ‘the publication of legal forms and precedents in the Irish language’.

The Act provides for the appointment of a Judge of the Supreme or High-Court, a Judge of the Circuit Court and a Judge of the District Court, a barrister, a solicitor, a member of the Translation Section of the Houses of the Oireachtas and such other members as the Government decides to constitute the Irish Legal Terms Advisory Committee.

Given their particular fields of competence, members bring both legal and Irish language expertise to the Committee.

The other members of the Committee are as follows:

·       Mr. Dáithí Mac Cárthaigh – a practising barrister, nominated by the Bar Council.
·      Mr. Malachy Joseph O’Kane – a practising solicitor, nominated by the Law Society.
·      Ms. Marie Ó Súilleabháin – based in An Daingean, Co. Kerry.
·      Ms. Muiríde Uí Chruadhlaoich – based in Baile an Fheirtéaraigh, Co. Kerry.
·      Ms. Áine Ní Chonghaile – Director of Europus Teo., a language consultancy company based in An Cheathrú Rua, Co. Galway.

Members are paid no fees for their participation in the Committee.