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

I move amendment No. 41:

In page 20, to delete lines 4 to 6 and substitute the following:

“(ii) matters connected to education, including Irish medium education, teaching and learning, research, organisational and financial governance, management, public administration, risk management or language planning.”.

I note that the Minister in his amendment No. 42 tries to do something similar to that proposed in this amendment and that is reflected throughout his amendments on the Irish language. Amendment No. 41 is slightly stronger as it deals with "Irish medium education" and "language planning" rather than just “the promotion and use of the Irish language”. Perhaps we can examine the matter.

Amendment No. 44 reflects on who will be nominated by the Minister or who will adjudicate on policy in terms of Údarás na Gaeltachta. It is the membership of the board that we deal with. Given the failures of the HEA over years, as we set up Údarás na Gaeltachta we should have within its members those who reflect and will champion the interests of the Irish language community and Gaeltacht areas. That is why we have stipulated in amendment No. 44 that at least one of the persons appointed shall be representative of a Gaeltacht area.

I do not know how specific the Minister wants to be, but there must be some way we can ensure those who work in Irish-medium education, such as an Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta, Údarás na Gaeltachta, Foras na Gaeilge and so on, can have a voice at that level so that what we have seen since the 1971 Act came into force is not repeated and we ensure the Irish language is a consideration at all times. Iit should, perhaps, be the foremost consideration, but I am a realist and understand how society works. At least, it should be a consideration throughout.

As regards amendment No. 46, we have had this argument previously. I raised it during the discussion on the Official Languages (Amendment) Act. It relates to the need for those who are chairs of various boards to have an understanding of the Irish language. In the case of the amendment, we are asking that the Minister seek to ensure that the chairperson of the board is able to communicate proficiently in Irish. It is not a significant ask, given that the vast majority of people in the higher education system have come through the Irish education system and, theoretically, many of them have that proficiency anyway. The Minister may be surprised to learn how widespread are Irish speakers. Raidió na Gaeltachta celebrated its 50th anniversary last weekend. It is an organisation that can find an Irish speaker anywhere in the world. In the middle of the Ukrainian situation when the Russians were attacking, it was able to find a Ukrainian who spoke Irish and could explain exactly her circumstances and what was happening. There are far more people with a proficient level of Irish than we give credit for; they just do not speak it regularly or do not get the opportunities to do so. We need to not play down that but, rather, make sure that it flows, especially if we believe the Irish language is central to our education. It is a small ask for the chairperson of the board to have that proficiency.

Amendment No. 49 is trying to ensure that 20% of members of the board have a proficiency in Irish. This is another amendment that has been recommended by Conradh na Gaeilge. I do not know if the Minister has listened to it on other amendments thus far. The amendment proposes that 20% of the members of the board shall have a level B2 or higher proficiency in spoken Iris on the common European framework of reference for languages. This relates to the system that is used for the Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge. It is not a B2 in the leaving certificate; it is a specific ability that I believe is attainable by people who may wish to be chairperson of such a body in the future.