This article is from page 4 of the 2007-03-27 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
can reveal that interpreters were required for 120 cases in the District Court in Clare last year, which compares with 30, in 2003.
A firm of interpreters has now been appointed to deal with the additional business both in Clare and around the country.
Previously, cases in Clare involving foreign nationals who required inter-
preters were dealt with by Con|[text], a Galway-based international trans- lation company, if certified by the presiding judge.
Now, for the first time, a contract has been signed with Dublin-based company Lionbridge.
The revelation comes in the wake of an Ennis solicitor raising an objec- tion to one particular interpreter be- ing involved in a case, at a sitting of Ennis District Court last week.
Solicitor Tara Godfrey said she had an objection to a particular translator, who was working with Con|[text].
She said her objection – in the case of a female foreign national, who is
accused of shoplifting – was not per- sonal, but that she couldn’t under- stand the translator.
“It is nothing personal. I cannot un- derstand her.
“IT am open to correction, but it is up to the court office to obtain an interpreter,’ she told Judge Joseph Mangan on Friday morning.
She said the charge would be con- tested, adding, “I do not want her in court for the contest. It is unfortunate and regrettable.”
Judge Joseph Mangan said he was noting the solicitor’s objection and told her she should liaise with the court office. He adjourned the case
for six weeks. A spokesperson for the courts serv- ice told