Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

That should be fun. I move amendment No. 5:

In page 10, between lines 1 and 2, to insert the following:

"'The Garda Síochána' shall be construed to mean references to 'an Garda Síochána';".

This amendment is self-explanatory. I debated it in committee with the Minister who said he would consider it. The title of the organisation is "An Garda Síochána" and, therefore, rather than my tabling 600 or 700 amendments to cover every occasion where it appears throughout the legislation, I have tabled this one. On page 9 alone there are eight appearances of the incorrect designation of the organisation. In some places it is simply "Garda Síochána" and in others "the Garda Síochána", but the correct form is "An Garda Síochána", since that is the title of the organisation.

The Minister said he would consider this issue and get back to me. It is similar to other legislation in this House in which the Irish language is not used properly. If one translated it into Irish or any other language, one would see that it gives the wrong meaning and interpretation to what is involved. That has often happened regarding authorities or organisations set up by the Government. In the past they were always known by their Irish titles, including "An Bord Bia" or "Bord na gCon", but more recently the mechanisms of Government have seemed to move towards giving them an English and an Irish title at the same time rather than simply a translation of the Irish title in recognition of Irish being the first official language of the State. I will not labour this point; I wonder how the Minister will react.

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