Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)

That is typical of this Minister. It is clear that he does not have the support of his Government colleagues on the initiatives he wishes to take on behalf of the Irish language. Today, we are discussing the Coimisiún na Gaeltachta report and not specifically the comprehensive linguistic study of the use of Irish in the Gaeltacht. No hard copy of that is available and I understand that it is difficult to retrieve the document from the Department's website. The Coimisiún na Gaeltachta report was published in May 2002.

A study of Gaeltacht schools was published by An Comhairle Um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta in May 2005. An Comhairle was established 2002 under the provisions of section 31 of the Education Act 1998. The study finds that the future of the Gaeltacht is intertwined with the future of the education system in the Gaeltacht. Therefore, if there is no resolution to the present crisis in the education system, the future of the Gaeltacht is at risk. The findings in this report are in line with the findings of the recent study, so I am not sure what we were waiting for in terms of addressing the situation.

The Minister's press release on the launch of the linguistic study on the use of Irish in the Gaeltacht states that, while noting the report, the Government did not necessarily accept its recommendations. The Minister added that a Cabinet level committee is being established to consider matters arising in the context of the reports and their analyses and recommendations with a view to agreeing an integrated action plan within 12 months to secure the future of Irish as the community language in the Gaeltacht. I understand the Minister has indicated that all Ministers are entitled to take part in this committee. It will be interesting to see how many take part. In order to flush out what is really happening in regard to the Irish language in this Government, quarterly reports on the committee should be made to the Oireachtas regarding the progress it made and the Ministers who attended it.

I am sick and tired of studies, committees and fora being established when little or nothing is happening in regard to the crisis facing the Gaeltacht and the Irish language generally. This Minister is overly dependent on legislation as the way to revive the language and strengthen its development. Radical thinking is needed for Irish. If the language is to have any chance, the various State functions in regard to it should be co-ordinated through the Taoiseach's office. There should be a full audit of the amount of money spent by the State in various ways on the Irish language, which could easily be of the order of €1 billion.

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