Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)

Beidh an chuid is mó den óráid seo as Béarla. Teastaíonn uaim teachtaireacht a chur amach faoin nGaeilge agus tá seans níos fearr agam an teachtaireacht sin a chur os comhair an phobail má labhraím as Béarla. Tá an teachtaireacht sin simplí— is le gach saoránach an Ghaeilge ar chomhchéim. Tá sé tábhachtach go dtuigeann gach éinne sin agus go dtuigeann siad gur rud taitneamhach í má chuirtear chuige sin ar an modh ceart.

Tá an Ghaeilge timpeall orainn. Tá na logainmneacha againn agus astu siúd tagann eolas ar stair áitiúil chomh maith le leathnú foclóra. Tá cuid mhaith focal Gaeilge a úsáidtear sa ghnáthchaint i mBéarla. Tá seanfhocail againn agus cosúil leis na seanfhocail sa Book of Proverbs sa mbíobla, tá críonnacht ag baint leo, críonnacht éagsúil ó chríonnacht aon tír eile ar an domhain, sin críonnacht na nGael.

The Irish language is an endangered language. The only languages in Europe that are generally known to be in danger of disappearing are the Celtic languages of Britain and Ireland, such as Scottish Gaelic, Irish Gaelic and Welsh. Manx is already extinct and Cornish died out at the end of the 18th century but was artificially revived and now has a number of speakers.

This information is contained in the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger of Disappearing, second edition, revised, enlarged and updated, and published in 2001. According to the author's estimate, about 6,000 languages are spoken in the world today. Some 3,000 or more of these languages are, at least, endangered. The Atlas states:

It is important to know that a language which is in danger of disappearing can still be saved, provided that an appropriate language policy is adopted: the case of Hebrew is a good example of the revival of a language that ceased to be a living language thousands of years ago.

There are, however, important aspects to the revival of Hebrew that do not apply to the Irish language. The first is that the Hebrew people throughout the world retained a knowledge of the written Hebrew and when, eventually, the State of Israel was set up people came to settle there from all over the world. There was a need for a language for these people to communicate with one another and the fact that down through the generations a knowledge of the written Hebrew had been retained made it rational for Hebrew to become the language of Israel.

Irish people, on the other hand, do not have the same widespread ability to read the language, nor is there any great communications imperative that would make it the preferred language in the same sense as Hebrew was the preferred language for the people of the new state of Israel.

There are five categories that indicate the degree of endangerment to the language. These are potentially endangered languages, where decreasing numbers of children learn the language; endangered languages, where the youngest speakers are young adults; seriously endangered languages, where the youngest speakers have reached or passed middle age; moribund languages, where only a few elderly speakers are left; and extinct languages, where no speakers are left.

In volume 11 of the 2002 census, which deals with the Irish language, page 68, table 33 deals with Irish speakers aged three years and over, classified by frequency of speaking, age group and sex. Accordingly, I have made the following calculations: in the three to four year age group, 2.6% never use Irish; in the four to nine age group, 3.1% never use Irish; in the ten to 14 age group, 6.5% never use Irish; in the 15 to 19 age group, 19.4% never use Irish; in the 20 to 24 age group, 43% never use Irish; in the 25 to 34 age group, 46% never use Irish; in the 35 to 44 age group, 39% never use Irish; in the 45 to 64 age group, 35% never use Irish; in the 55 to 64 age group, 32% never use Irish; and in the 65 and over age group, 32% never use Irish.

There is a clear pattern here. Non-use of Irish among the 15 to 19 years group is 19.4% but there is a dramatic increase among the 20 to 24 years group. That pattern continues in the 25 to 34 years group whereas there is a reduction in the number of people aged between 35 and 65 who never use Irish. Nonetheless the 32% of 65s and over who never use the Irish language is greater than the 19.4% that never use the Irish language in the 15 to 19 years group. Ability to speak Irish is higher among females at 45.9% than males at 39.7%.

The Minister for Education and Science recently stated: "It is an accepted tenet of linguistic research that a language will struggle where a society does not create an environment for its active everyday use." However, in his inaugural report for 2004, the language commissioner states: "I firmly believe that teachers should not carry all the blame for the absence of fluency in the language on the part of so many people who have come through the educational system." The commissioner is well aware that of the occupational groups with the highest ability to speak Irish, teachers came out on top at 79.3%.

The inaugural report of the language commissioner was presented to the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs on 22 February 2005. On Friday, 4 March 2005 the Minister was reported as blaming poor levels of Irish among teachers as one of the main reasons for a shortage of workers competent in the Irish language. He said the standard of Irish among teachers needed to be looked at to help address the problem. He also stated that although there is a combination of factors behind poor levels of Irish, teacher training is a major element. He added:

One of the major problems is the large number of teachers particularly those qualified in recent years who don't have a competency in the language. We are getting a poor return for our investment of time and money in terms of learning Irish.

I invite the commissioner and the Minister to focus on the statistics that in the 15 to 19 years group 19.4% never use Irish, in the 20 to 24 years group 43% never use Irish and in the 25 to 34 years group 46% never use Irish.

Both the Minister and the commissioner would be well served to examine the environment of the Irish language, which is, at best, unsupportive and, at worst, quite hostile, rather than lunging into the blame game and singling out teachers for special mention. They have commenced the blame game. They realise that the State has not succeeded in reviving the Irish language, despite massive investment. A group must be to blame and teachers present an easy target. This is, at the very least, a sloppy, shallow and disingenuous analysis, not to mention the patronising tone.

However, I agree with one statement made by the language commissioner in his report, but he does not go far enough. He states that a public debate on this important aspect of Irish life is essential. He alludes to what changes for the better can be made in the education system, which will ensure competency in the language in return for the substantial State investment in this area of education. The commissioner reckons this investment is as much as €500 million annually. He also states the Irish language does not belong exclusively to any one section of the people but to everyone.

This is correct and goes in the right direction but the debate should not be confined to the education system solely. This is to miss the entire point. The language belongs to all the people but too few of them see it that way. Elitism and fanaticism have not helped the cause of the revival of the language. There is an urgent need for a full and frank national debate free from intimidation and elitism so that people can without fear express their views on and attitude to the Irish language. Many people are antagonistic to the Irish language. They should be made to feel that in this democratic society, they should be able to express their opinions on the Irish language or any other subject without accusations of being west Britons or not being truly Nationalist.

Such a debate is not only desirable but essential to cultivate the sense of ownership of the Irish language which will develop a proactive mindset towards the Irish language. The Irish language revival movement has absolutely nothing to fear from such a debate but its absence will contribute to further decline. Many positives relating to the language can be missed, not least the number of Irish words that are used in spoken English. Boreen, sceach, abu, amadan, ciotog, camogie, fado, smithereens and uisce beatha, spring readily to mind. There are many others and, interestingly, many Irish words are used in spoken English in Newfoundland, for example, shebeen, sleaveen, gamogue, tayscaun, galore, piseog. I refer to place names, which are all around us, such as ath, baile, cill, cluain, dun, eaglais, fear, gleann, inis, lios, maigh, moin, paroiste, rath. Not alone do these words enhance our vocabulary but these place names contain much history.

Many proverbs or seanfhocail are in everyday use, for example, ní bhíonn in aon rud ach seal; is fearr an tsláinte ná na táinte; sceitheann meisce mírú; is glasa iad na cnoic i bhfad uainn; nuair a bhíonn an cat amuigh bíonn an luch ag rince; and is binn béal ina thost. Seanfhocail contain the wisdom of the Irish race as well as serving to expand our vocabulary. The basic lesson of this is that learning Irish can be a great, enriching joy. Negativity, like the blame game, is anathema to this. This is an essential truth which is, all too often, overlooked.

We have reached an important juncture in regard to the Irish language but we are losing the battle. I refer to the well known seanfhocal, "Ní neart go cur le chéile — unity is strength." This is not a time for divisiveness, nor is it a time for the blame game. The people are co-owners of the national treasure that is the Irish language, yet not everybody appreciates this. The language should be shared and enjoyed and those of us who appreciate it should go out of our way to communicate this to others in a positive way. We allow a situation to arise by which a minority can monopolise the debate by insisting on abstract rights relating to the Irish language, which are trivial in the overall scheme of things and will only alienate others.

The UNESCO atlas states that the Irish language is endangered. It is not too late to save it. A spirit of generosity is called for and we must not fail in that.

Nuair a bhí an Teachta McGinley ag caint, rinne sé comhbhrón le clann an iar-Sheanadóir, Pól Ó Foighil. Ba mhaith liom chomhbhrón a dhéanamh freisin. Is cuimhin liom nuair a tháinig mé anseo don chéad uair, bhí choiste ann don Ghaeilge, agus bhí Pól ina baill de. Fear ann féin ab ea é. Bhí a chroí sáite sa Ghaeilge agus sa Ghaeltacht. Go ndéanfaí Dia trócaire ar a anam dílis.

Cé go bhfuil an Gaeilge i gcontúirt, tá leigheas ar an scéal. Tá sé níos furasta daoine a mhealladh ná iallach a chur ar daoine. Más rud é go mbíonn gluaiseacht na Gaeilge ró-theibí, chasfaidh daoine sa treo eile. Casfaimid daoine a mhealladh trí léiriú dóibh stair áitiúil, mar shampla. Tá sé furasta aistriú a dhéanamh ar an Trá Mhór i mo cheantar féin, mar shampla. Mar an gcéanna le Dunmore East, Dún Mór, agus Port Láirge. Tá logainmneacha mar sin ar fud na tíre. Sampla eile is ea Baile Átha Cliath, the town of the ford of the hurdles, nó Dublin agus Dubh Linn.

Tá an Ghaeilge agus stair na Gael timpeall orainn. Ní leagaimid i gcónaí an béim cheart ar sin. Tá obair mhaith déanta ag lucht teilifíse, ag TG4 agus RTE, chun an saibhris seo a chur os comhair na daoine. Tá lige san Acht teanga, mar a dúirt mé go minic sa díospóireacht ar an Bhille sin, sé sin go bhfuil sé mar cheart ag daoine dul os comhair na cúirte más rud é nach bhfuil siad sásta le cinneadh éigin den Choimisinéir Teanga. Tá súil agam nach dtarlaíodh a leithéid. Tá siúl agam nach mbeidh daoine ag iarraidh cearta nach bhfuil aon ciall ag baint leo agus nach ndéanfaidh aon mhaitheas dóibh siúd ná don Ghaeilge. Caithfear sin a sheachaint.

Tá an Gaeilge taitneamhnach. Tríd an Ghaeilge is féidir daoine a oiliúint i stair na tíre, oidhreacht na nGael agus ar an slí inar tháinig an teanga aníos chugainn.

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