Mr. John Finucane:

I thank Conradh na Gaeilge for the presentation. I reiterate the importance of this. It extends beyond the Irish language. I do not think this committee needs to have the politics rehearsed but it is worth people and members having that in their minds today.

In north Belfast, we have, in my very biased opinion, one of the best Irish language success stories with Gaelscoil Éanna. Twenty years ago, my son was one of the first of eight pupils who were put together to form a naíscoil.

Twenty years later, as he is getting ready to go to university, the school is oversubscribed. It is another example, if one was needed, of how much the language is flourishing, not just in north Belfast and the rest of Belfast but across the Six Counties. Such has been the growth in numbers that Coláiste Feirste will, I hope, get its second campus in north Belfast so that we can provide that platform for those who wish to carry on their secondary education in north Belfast through the medium of Irish.

This issue goes to the heart of faith and trust in previous agreements. The St. Andrews Agreement was referenced as was New Decade, New Approach. With respect, this is not just another issue whereby we have a group before us today that is lobbying. This is something the committee needs to take very seriously. In respect of the representatives of Conradh na Gaeilge, how important is this for those children with whom they and I marched in Belfast city centre? What is their personal sense of how important the implementation of this agreement is for those children who continue to be taught through the medium of Irish, those parents who send their children to Irish medium schools and those who want the same rights as everybody else across these islands? It is important that the committee gets that personal sense from those with whom Conradh na Gaeilge talk on a daily basis as to how important this remains as an issue and a litmus test as we go forward.