Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Tá mé fíorbhuíoch as ucht an tseans labhairt ag an gcéad phointe. Tá cruinniú agamsa ar 3.30 p.m. Gabhaim leithscéal leis an gCathaoirleach. Cuirim fáilte roimh na daoine uile atá anseo inniu. Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach, le hEugene Ó Cruadhlaoich agus leis an bhfoireann uile fá choinne na sároibre atá déanta ar an ábhar seo. Tá sé iontach tábhachtach. Bhí siad ag obair go dian thar na seachtainí a chuaigh thart agus tá mé fíorbhuíoch faoi sin. Bhí an ceart ag Dónal Ó hAiniféin san óráid a thug sé. Tá taithí agus saineolas ag COGG go nádúrtha trí na scoileanna a bhíonn ag múineadh go hiomlán trí Ghaeilge ach tá suim aige fosta sna scoileanna Béarla agus tá sé sin iontach dearfach. Tá an óráid atá ag teacht amach inniu iontach tiomanta agus inspioráideach fá choinne na ndaoine sa rannóg Bhéarla fosta. Dá mbeadh aon bhealach ann fá choinne comhairliúcháin nó díospóireachta nó cainte faoi sin, bheadh sé sin iontach tábhachtach. Is cinnte go bhfuil na hionadaithe páirteach as na páirtithe leasmhara éagsúla agus as an gcomhrá i gcónaí ach tá deiseanna ann ar son na ndaoine atá taobh amuigh den churaclam, ní hamháin sna bunscoileanna ach sna meánscoileanna fosta.

Maidir leis na díolúintí, tá na daoine uile atá taobh amuigh sna meánscoileanna agus sna bunscoileanna ag streachailt. Tá mise ag smaoineamh faoi na daoine leis na dúshláin speisialta agus tá suim acu sa stair, i stair na teanga, san oidhreacht agus sna rudaí cultúrtha. Is í an cheist a bhí agam ar an Aire atá sí ar shiúl anois ná ceist maidir le spás nó deiseanna fá choinne díospóireachta, comhairle nó cainte faoin spás sa churaclam an tsraith shóisearach ar son stair na teanga, agus na rudaí stairiúla, oidhreachta agus cultúrtha fosta. B'fhéidir go mbeidh seans ann amach anseo fá choinne sin. Tá mise ag smaoineamh faoi na tuismitheoirí ó Éirinn agus ó na tíortha eile fosta a bhfuil suim acu i bhfoghlaim na rudaí cultúrtha agus oidhreachta sa tír seo.

I apologise for having to leave. I thank Dónal Ó hAiniféin and his team for being here today. I thank him not just for his contribution here today but also for the work he and his team have done down through the years. In addition to their purposes, roles and responsibilities around Gaelscoileanna agus Gaelcholáistí, they have an interest in trying to help English-medium schools to try to find a fit on behalf of the Irish language. I thank Mr. Kearney and his team at the NCSE and Ms Tansey for all the work they do. The people who get exemptions do not wish to walk away from all things Irish or from the culture or history. There are third level courses, such as one in Coleraine that many teachers did down through the years, that involve Irish folklore studies, logainmneacha and local history connections.

With regard to all of those people who have taken exemptions for the simple reason that they are struggling with na rudaí cumarsáide leis an teanga, and they are struggling with that aspect of the curriculum, we are honour-bound and have a duty agus tá an dualgas orainn uilig to those students from different countries, be they from Ukraine, the United States of America, or from any other part of the world who are coming into this country. They want to learn all things Irish, about our heritage, about who we are as a people, about the townland in which they live, what it means, and what the old Irish name of it prior to it being anglicised.

There is no opportunity for all of us to get our heads together, and this was a question I had for the Minister, mar go bhfuil rudaí solúbtha sa churaclaim. We have flexibility in the curriculum to introduce a history of the Irish language, or call it what one wants, to incorporate some form of connection with our Irish heritage through the curriculum in the junior certificate for those students who are coming from primary school who may have had the exemptions and who will have exemptions in secondary school. The parents and students I speak to who have these exemptions say they still want to learn, to know and gain an insight into our heritage, who we are as a people and as a country, what their townland means, what their local heritage is, na rudaí oidhreachta agus áitiúla, an bhrí atá acu, and to understand what it means to them. There is a flexibility in the junior certificate curriculum. This is not a question I put today but we have to create a space for the conversation to ask if there is room in the junior certificate for the history of the Irish language, to find out more about that in order to facilitate the people who have to avail of the exemption, for one reason or another. Is é sin an dóigh chun tabhairt faoi sin.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach arís faoi achan rud atá déanta aige thar na blianta agus as a dhíograis agus a shár-obair fosta.