The updated website was developed in conjunction with Rannóg an Aistriúcháin, the Irish language translation service of the Oireachtas, and aims to offer a valuable resource for politicians and their staff, legal translators, lawyers, students and the general public.

Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl said: “Legislation passed by the Irish State has been published in English and Irish since 1922. This means that the State has now published more than 100 years of Irish language legislation, which is quite significant.

“It is important that that this legislation is available to the citizen, the legal profession, public representatives and any citizen who wants to read the laws of Ireland in either of the two official languages. Therefore, the Acts and their official translations must be made available to the public in a way that is easy to access, read and search.”

Achtanna.ie was initially launched in 2003, but the new version introduces features such as a search function that will accept text in either language, while search results in English will also inform the user if there is an Irish version of the Act containing the same phrase or word.

Mr Ó Fearghaíl said: “The State has made significant progress, in recent years, in terms of providing information and support to those who wish to conduct their business through the medium of Irish, and Achtanna.ie is a particular support for these citizens.

“There is no other facility that presents the complete versions of primary legislation, and the official translations thereof, in an aggregated manner.

“In fact, one of our major objectives with this site is that the contextual aggregated presentation will help lawyers, translators, teachers and tutors, journalists and others in the work they do through the medium of Irish.”

Vivian Uíbh Eachach, chief translator, said: “Rannóg an Aistriúcháin is very pleased that Achtanna.ie has been upgraded and updated. The legislation website is a great support to those who require access to primary legislation and to the official translations of that legislation.

“A facility has been established, as part of the development, to update the material in the site continuously through the addition of new Acts and new official translations over time. It is the intention of Rannóg an Aistriúcháin that Achtanna.ie will be central from now on in presenting legislation to the public bilingually.”