Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will try not to rehash everything that the previous two Deputies mentioned.

The Minister, when he addressed this, failed to grasp the fact that this is not an extra burden. This is to ensure consistency across the board.

Most of it is to ensure that existing functions, whether State or local authority, are given the proper attention when developing, whether it is a development plan, a written statement or a specific appeal as in the case of the last point that was been made where an evaluation is being made of plans. It is to ensure that language plans that are set out under different legislation and that have a standing in law are taken fully into account. That should be a given. The problem is over the years it has not been a given. They have been set aside. Sometimes Irish language communities have had to go to court to ensure that their rights are protected or that due regard has been given to some of the written statements or some of the laws pertaining to the Irish language.

In this case, a set of additional obligations have been set in our bureaucratic system to ensure that they have to draw up development plans, investment plans and environmental plans. This is to ensure, in particular where there are Gaeltacht areas, but also líonra Gaeilge, that due regard is taken of the Irish language-speaking population in that area for the future. It is not overly onerous. It needs to be part of the system. For far too long, Irish has been an afterthought - "Feck, we forgot about that. Stick in a statement there on the development plan to say they supported the Irish language." That is the attitude in some of the local authorities. There has been significant change of late. Some of it is because the Irish language organisations, the committee here, etc., have forced not only the CEOs and the officials in the local authorities, but also those within Departments, to be a bit more respectful and accepting of their duties in terms of the Irish language and recent enactments by these Houses have also set out in considerable detail their duties and responsibilities. The attempt in these amendments is to ensure that nobody can ever turn around and say, "Shit, we forgot about that strategy." That is sometimes what it is - "No, I forgot about that. I am sorry about that. We will catch it the next time we are sitting down looking at a development plan."

If the Minister looks at them - he probably has a duty to look at all of the development plans that have been passed by local authorities in the past year or so - they are quite detailed. In my office, they call it my bible, as it sits there in written format. That is what outlines the future development for every one of us who are TDs and all those who are councillors, and their officials. If there is no mention of the Irish language or their responsibilities in terms of the language community, it makes it a case where it is grand but it is not written down in this bible. The new bible is this 700-page document and when we are finished with it, it will probably be 900 pages or more. That will be the bible for any planning official and anybody looking for guidance in terms of future development. A big plan in Dublin, for example, City Edge, if it ever comes off, is a plan. The planners will look to this legislation for what they have to comply with, the strategies and the written statements so that they will not fall foul of legislation provision. If it is not clearly listed here, there will be a shortfall.

I can go through each of the amendments. In some ways, they are quite simple. For example, they state what the written statements shall include. If the wording is too onerous, I am happy enough to work in a different wording. The other ones state, "take due account of". I will not go through each one, one after another. The reason voluntary organisations, such as Conradh na Gaeilge and Bánú, and others, myself included, have sat down and looked at this is the Irish language has been an afterthought and there is frustration that they are not or will not be listened to. The Minister has a good attitude to the Irish language but we heard a former Minister on the radio only yesterday who obviously did not have a good attitude towards the Irish language. We are trying to make sure that a future government, no matter which shade, colour or whatever, cannot bypass or have its officials in a local authority area bypass their responsibilities to ensure that we have the Gaeltacht language plans and any future plans in terms of the networks taken into account. It means that those who are drawing up those plans must be cognisant of what is in this legislation and those who are drawing up plans, strategies, written statements or development plans, or looking to review or appeal different aspects, also must have due regard to the statute because the Irish language networks are being set up on a statutory basis

It is on a statutory basis and they have a statutory underpinning. In some ways, that is what captures the whole lot.

In some ways, it is sad that we have to go down this road. It should have been a given because Acht na dTeangacha Oifigiúla, 2003 is there. The State has set out its plans for the Irish language. Some of it has been successful and some of it has not. In particular, in Gaeltacht areas, there is a continuous encroachment by English-speaking districts and English speakers into an area. I have no problem with English speakers. They are all around me but the problem is, in an area that is already delicate and has suffered greatly since the founding of the State - since the Famine in particular, and the clearance or bánú because of emigration - they are now suffering because they cannot locate where they wish. The people who are stopping them, in many ways, are those who hold the planning powers or those who have the holiday homes and the like.

This is an attempt by Irish-language organisations and others to ensure that their need to expand and protect Gaeltacht areas is recognised, and to expand, if possible, outside the ones from the experiment that was tried in the 1930s, and which still exist - Ráth Chairn and Baile Ghib. People know about Ráth Chairn. It is there but it is not sustainable by itself unless we allow the community to grow. Baile Ghib is absolutely struggling and there is a need to step in and look after it. The strategy has to comes from central government but it also has to come from the local authority. It is not a priority with the local authority. Baile Ghib is so small in the scale of Meath, which is dealing with every other aspect around Navan, Dunshaughlin, all of Dunboyne and the whole lot, which have major problems because there is huge growth in the area. Here you have two small communities struggling to expand and have their own identities but they are an afterthought, whereas at the very least, if we have these protections, maybe we can make sure they will never be an afterthought again.