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

I can understand what the Minister of State says. We have all been under pressure to deal with amendments and to address them here today given the rush to ensure that our planning legislation is intact and correct. Some of these amendments are quite simple and they are not contentious. They are in line with the legislation. I could understand if the Minister of State said there is no need for them because the legislation already exists but there is a need for them because we must specify the exact spelling and the order of the words. This is an opportunity to ensure that each of the bodies mentioned are specified in the Irish language, as intended by the Official Languages Act.

Perhaps it is a hangover from previous legislation that it did not happen from the get-go. Part of my intention with the amendments to this and other Bills is to try to ensure that every Department understands from the get-go that the law exists and that there should not be any doubt. Beyond that there is the issue of branding and making sure that the branding of State companies is in line with the Official Languages Act. For years, branding existed as Gaeilge and perhaps the problem is that it was not always backed up by other actions. The hope is that through various Government strategies and the work that is happening on the ground, if we get it right in here – we are the ones responsible for ensuring that is the case - the branding will resonate with the public again, as it did before. That will then become part of day-to-day parlance and add to the other effects we have already noticed from the Official Languages Act. Everybody will have heard a lot more Irish language advertisements on TV and radio. We fought for that when the legislation was going through. The question is whether it is effective or not. My English-speaking friends say that it has resulted in them using a little bit more Irish or at least commenting on the fact that Irish is in greater use. We will give the same message with branding. There is only a certain amount that we can control when we are dealing with legislation that is not specifically to do with the Irish language in order that the message goes out.

In some ways I am not inclined to withdraw the amendments. I understand what the Minister of State has said about looking again at this but – this is not an accusation aimed at anybody – this is a lazy approach. The officials are not lazy because they have produced a 700-page document and they have gone through the more than 1,200 amendments. They will probably have to go through a lot of them again on Report Stage and in the Seanad. The use of the word "lazy" has nothing to do with them putting the work in, it is just the approach. As an Irish speaker I have often found when dealing with the State sector that the Irish language is an afterthought, if it is a thought at all. I will press the amendment.