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

I am not going to take up much more of the committee's time on this issue. We are trying to ensure, for example, that the 20% requirement in respect of staff recruited to the commission in a given year is included in this legislation for the very reason that the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021 has not commenced. Staff could be recruited to work for the commission before the date of commencement or the functioning of the Act. The advisory committee has not been put in place yet. It is due to be put in place in a number of weeks. That is one of the reasons for these amendments. The amendments also seek to reflect the intention of Government and the Oireachtas in passing that legislation. As the Minister of State has said, competency to carry out functions in the Irish language is a desirable attribute and the Minister should take cognisance of it while setting out a remit for a chief executive, chairperson or members of boards. However, as we have seen in the history of the Irish language, such competence was always a desirable attribute, but never a requirement as such, which meant that many State boards and bodies did not stick with the original intentions of the State. People will recall that when the State was founded, there was a long tradition of most of the State organisations having Irish language names. There was a huge campaign to ensure that those within the Civil Service learned Irish and spoke in Irish. In the past 30 to 40 years, in particular, we have rolled back on that. That is one of the reasons for the implementation of the Official Languages Acts, and some of the rationale behind the amendments that I have moved here and will introduce in respect of other legislation. I am seeking to ensure that we have the debate at the earliest point, whether successful or not, so that those who come after us understand that in the intentions as set out, we were mindful of the need for all State organisations to reflect that need for language competency and to reflect the fact that they are not operating in a singular vernacular across the State in the future.