Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

I agree with Deputy O'Shea that much money has been spent on the Irish language and that not enough progress has been made since the foundation of the State. I agree with the Minister that more needs to be done and I fully support his views on preserving, improving and supporting the Irish language movement. It is also important that we interact with people who speak languages other than Irish and English, particularly at local government and local Health Service Executive levels. Does the Minister believe we should have a more proactive approach to employing interpreters locally and in our courts? We need to account for the thousands of new people moving to our country who speak languages other than Irish and English.

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