The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is in the process of establishing an Irish language unit and plans to recruit at least 20 lawyer-linguists between now and the end of 2021.

Ireland will also become the main source of English language lawyer-linguists after Brexit.

Mr Justice George Birmingham, president of the Court of Appeal, opened the Wednesday evening conference, which also heard from senior legal figures including Attorney General Séamus Woulfe SC and former and current lawyer-linguists.

M. Thierry Lefèvre, head of the directorate-general for multilingualism in the CJEU, addressed the conference, as did European Affairs Minister Helen McEntee and Gaeltacht Minister Seán Kyne.