Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I just want to make a final comment on what was said. I do not agree at all with children being excluded because their parents are not active in Irish. That is a very bland statement to make. We need to encourage children to learn Irish. It should not be their fault if their parents cannot speak it. A parent not doing a certain thing should not be part of any toss in any school to exclude someone. That is a very wrong statement to make. It is not that I have no evidence of this. I have evidence of it. I see it all around me where I live. Children are excluded because they come from a certain area or their families do not speak Irish. That is wrong in my eyes. If there is ever to be a chance that children will love their Irish language, this is not the way to go. That is all I am saying.