[lg policy] We deliver letters addressed in Irish and Ulster Scots, says Royal Mail after post returned

[Harold Schiffman]

-- 
= We deliver letters addressed in Irish and Ulster Scots, says Royal Mail
after post returned
[image: Royal Mail said it was willing to deliver letters addressed in
Irish or Ulster Scots.] *1* *1* Royal Mail said it was willing to deliver
letters addressed in Irish or Ulster Scots.

By *Gareth Cross*

October 19 2018

   -




   -

Royal Mail has launched an investigation after a letter addressed in Irish
was returned to its sender.

Piarais Mac Alastair took to Twitter after a letter he sent to Boucher Road
addressed in Irish was returned to him by Royal Mail, saying the addressee
was unknown and there was no such address.

   - * Northern Ireland councillors under investigation over 'English-only'
   policy social media posts
   <https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/northern-ireland-councillors-under-investigation-over-englishonly-policy-social-media-posts-37435079.html>
*
   - * Sinn Fein says 'rudderless DUP has no interest in restoring
   power-sharing'
   <https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/sinn-fein-says-rudderless-dup-has-no-interest-in-restoring-powersharing-37402850.html>
*
   - * New Irish language post filled by Belfast council
   <https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/new-irish-language-post-filled-by-belfast-council-37402283.html>*

A Royal Mail help account replied to Mr Mac Alastair saying that standard
procedure would have been for the postal worker to refer the letter to
their line manager who would have the letter translated in-house.

A Royal Mail spokeswoman told The Belfast Telegraph that they were
investigating complaints around the issue.

They said that they will be reminding all staff of their policy on the
issue.

“We apologise if a few customers have experienced delays with items of mail
addressed in Irish. We fully understand these concerns raised by them and
are investigating these complaints. Every item of mail is important to us
and we typically pride ourselves on high levels of service," the
spokeswoman said.

“Royal Mail fully recognises the cultural importance of the Irish and
Ulster Scots languages, We are committed to fulfilling its obligations and
responsibilities, as set out in current national and European agreements.

"Royal Mail also recognises the need to balance the requirements of our
customers for an efficient value-for-money service, with the need to
acknowledge our responsibilities as a major organisation operating in a
society with diverse cultures. This has always been and remains our
approach.

"Royal Mail handles Irish language items on a daily basis and the
overwhelming majority of these are delivered without any difficulty. This
is true, as long as the house or premises number and postcode appear
correctly on mail items. On some occasions mail could be marked as we
translate the location of the address. We are reminding all our staff of
our policy and we will be taking appropriate steps to prevent this
happening again.”

Responding on Twitter, former Lord Mayor of Belfast Niall O'Donnghaile said
the issue was an "ongoing problem" and requested a meeting with "a
representative of senior management in Belfast".
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+

 Harold F. Schiffman

Professor Emeritus of
 Dravidian Linguistics and Culture
Dept. of South Asia Studies
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305

Phone:  (215) 898-7475
Fax:  (215) 573-2138

Email:  haroldfs at gmail.com
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/

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