Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

We seem to have come full circle. I have been saying all along that I am not one for setting up committees and issuing reports. I intend to articulate Government policy and not the views of a Fóram na Gaeilge report, although I want that organisation to give advice. Any policy statement positioning the role of the Irish language in the State will be a statement of Government policy, not a statement by Fóram na Gaeilge. I want it to do continuous work. I remember critics of Fóram na Gaeilge questioning when it would finish its work and issue a report. I stated this was not its purpose. As we discussed earlier today, we want it to push the agenda forward incrementally. I can recall a large range of issues regarding which we have done just that during my tenure of office.

Let me address the Deputy's other question. About four or five weeks ago, I spoke in Cork about teaching the Irish language. Anybody who was present on the night will remember that I made two points. Just because one states a fact does not mean one is blaming somebody. I did not state what I stated to blame anybody. However, if a fact is a fact, let us deal with it. Let us move away from the codology whereby it is believed that if one states a fact, one is in some way accusing or blaming somebody personally.

I will reiterate the fact I stated at the meeting in Cork. There is a major problem associated with the teaching of Irish associated with many teachers' lack of knowledge of the language. If anybody doubts me in that regard, he should go to the coláistí oiliúna, meet the final year students and have with them the debates we have had this afternoon in Irish. He will find out that what I am saying is a matter of fact. It would be crazy of me to blame the students for not doing something if the system has not taught them that thing. I am not into that business. On the other hand, it would be equally crazy for me not to recognise the aforementioned fact and request that we address the problem.

In debates on the Irish language, we always seem to believe that stating a fact involves apportioning blame. In the debate on the Official Languages Act, I alluded to the fact that only 5% of adults speak Irish on a daily basis. Therefore, I always said it was ludicrous to suggest that every civil servant should be able to deal with every issue through Irish. I rubbished this at the time on the basis that they do not have Irish. One of the great arguments in the debate centred on this topic.

I reiterate the well recognised and known fact that the majority of public servants do not feel comfortable doing their daily business through the medium of Irish. All the evidence from censuses etc. will substantiate this, as will the evidence we glean in respect of the day-to-day realities we encounter in our work.

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