Bilingualism – Ads should be run in Irish as well as English.
In support of Policy CU26[1] and Objective CUO45 Dublin Gaeltacht[2], the council should make it policy that an advertising on billboards within the city should be at least bilingual.
Advertising in the public space is uninvited messaging people are forced to engage with when using their streets, squares and neighbourhoods. Under our Constitution, we are a bilingual state, where Irish is the first official language, and we recognise that the Irish speaking community is a vulnerable minority being continuously pressured into using English by a heavily anglicized environment. Uninvited messaging pushing the English language reinforces the idea that English is the language of the public space, and Irish has no role here.
By regulating advertising and signage in public to ensure that any new ads or signs erected restore bilingualism to the public space, Dublin City Council could go a long way towards promoting the Irish language as a visible and relevant element of modern life, both commercial and civic. This would tie in with the recent successful efforts of Baile Átha Cliath le Gaeilge to encourage the use of Irish in business across the capital.
This could involve placing conditions on any public advertising spaces to ensure that at least 50% of the advertising they display is primarily in the Irish language. This could be achieved by requiring companies who purchase ad space to provide ads in both languages or bilingual ads, or incentivising Irish language advertising by adding to the cost of advertising in English. This could apply to billboards, advertising in shop windows, on bins or on public transport infrastructure (bus stops, train stations, buses), for example.
These proposals could be phased in over the course of the Development Plan and ensure that only new ads or signs would be covered, meaning no extra cost to the companies involved. BÁC le Gaeilge could also provide support for translation.
As a public body under the Official Languages Acts, Dublin City Council will have to ensure 20% of its own advertising expenditure goes towards Irish language advertising in future. Keeping with the spirit of this legislative goal should involve going further, and ensuring the regulations made by the Council covering shopfronts and advertising in public spaces also increase the visibility of Irish throughout Baile Átha Cliath.
[1] “To continue supporting Gaeilge as part of our identity and as a living language within the city and to promote Irish language and culture through policy and actions”
[2] “To support the promotion of the Irish language and support initiatives to establish Irish language network areas/”Dublin Gaeltacht” in Dublin; {and the implementation of Dublin City Council’s initiative Baile Átha Cliath le Gaeilge to increase the opportunities and space for people to use and learn”