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

I move amendment No. 3:

In page 27, line 30, to delete “ “Chief Planning Commissioner” ” and substitute “ “Príomh Choimisinéir Pleanála” ”.

It would be much easier if we changed the rules of the House in order that with amendments such as these, one could put a single amendment at the start containing the phrase “thereafter, where it appears”, but this is the rule. Many of these amendments are quite similar in that they are trying to ensure that from the start of the legislation, the specific titles of príomh choimisinéir pleanála, or chief planning commissioner, as it appears, or chief executive officer, planning commissioners, planning regulator, national planning framework and a number of other ones appear in legislation in the Irish title. It is supposed to happen since the passage of the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021. We agreed in law that any new body will be given a title in Irish only. The logic is that in this instance, we would use this legislation to effect that if it has not been already. We are recognising the Official Languages (Amendment) Act. We wish to do away with the practice of having just a token title in Irish. For example, it used to say in legislation “and in the English language, such a title", and it then became the normal parlance for that title in English to be used. The change I suggest is that the change in the official language makes it clear there is no need for an English title when that title is as Gaeilge.

Section 9D(1) of the Official Languages (Amendment) Act states: "The name of a statutory body established, on and from the commencement of section 4of the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021, shall be in the Irish language." Despite the commencement of the Act, numerous pieces of legislation have been tabled that have ignored this legal obligation they set themselves and many new bodies have been proposed with bilingual or Irish language names. In many instances, I tabled amendments and argued the case. Some Ministers have accepted it and others have not.

The logic is there and the law is there. It is not just a question of accepting the law but to make sure that it is written into legislation so that there is no doubt. As I said, in many cases, Ministers have accepted it. We have the move by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to recognise "An Coimisiún Toghcháin" but it is still an issue because the branding has "Ireland's Electoral Commission" in English, which is a term that is not found in the legislation.

The Minister for Justice recently announced her intention to change what was originally to be known as the Office of the Policing Ombudsman and I argued with her that it was wrong. She changed it and it is now recognised as Fiosrú – Oifig an Ombudsman Póilíneachta.

I hope that in these instances the Minister will be able reflect on this. The historic position of the State was to recognise the primacy of the Irish language and in the past there were bodies such as Bord na Móna, An Garda Síochána, and Córas Iompair Éireann, CIÉ, Bus Éireann, and Bord Gáis. That was the normal terminology. It was not a problem for the public and there was not a need to translate. In the 1970s and 1980s there seems to have been a change within the Civil Service and those who were addressing this shifted to Dublin Bus, and Irish Rail rather than Iarnród Éireann, which was the previous title. There was a shift away from the Irish names. These amendments are trying to correct the balance and in some cases to ensure the law is corrected in regard to the titles that I have mentioned. In some ways the question of the titles of bodies has already been conceded in the Official Languages Act. I hope the Minister of State will be able to accept this amendment. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has been good. An example of that is the Croí Cónaithe scheme, which some might say is a difficult term. However, that is not the case and people understand it quite quickly. An Coimisiún Toghcháin is another example. The names of the other bodies I referred to are self-explanatory. There are quite a number of these amendments but they are not contentious. I will allow other speakers to come in or the Minister of State to reply.