Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

Go raibh míle maith agat. I am delighted to speak today on the Government statement on the Irish language and on the Irish language in general. I am not afraid to admit I do not speak Irish but I make an effort to speak Irish and have a strong interest in the Gaeltacht. There are three Gaeltacht areas in the constituency I represent and I am delighted to say that, in the recent general election, people in those areas gave me 32% of the vote, which is something of which I am very proud.

Before the last general election TG4 carried out a poll, the results of which were amazing. People who spoke Irish in the Gaeltacht were asked which of the five Deputies in Mayo best represented the Gaeltacht and I was delighted when they answered that I was the person who best represented them and that I spoke a language they understood, even if it was not Irish. Fine Gael has always supported the Irish language and will continue to do so.

Fine Gael founded this State and set up the Department of the Gaeltacht. My own county provided one of the finest Ministers for the Gaeltacht, P. J. Lindsay. He is still talked of in the Gaeltacht, although I only knew him for a very short time. He was only in the job for a short time and people say it is a pity he was not there for longer because we would probably have a stronger Gaeltacht now. He was not afraid to use his ministerial power to do what had to be done. At that time Fine Gael talked about the revival of the language but that was a long time ago. It has been 75 years since the foundation of the State and hypocrisy about the Irish language persists. I hope I do not offend anybody in what I say. The first meeting took place yesterday of the Joint Committee on Arts, Tourism, Sport, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs. There are 24 committees of the Oireachtas, 24 chairmen and 24 vice-chairmen but not one committee exclusively for the Gaeltacht. It is a disgrace that the Houses of the Oireachtas do not have a committee dealing exclusively with the Gaeltacht. I propose that the Minister talk to the Taoiseach about setting up a 25th committee to deal with the Gaeltacht.

I note that a further ministerial committee is being proposed by the Government. This means the end of the report which was published last week. The Minister may do his best but the Cabinet sub-committees will have no interest in the Irish language because there has been no interest for the past 75 years.

I went through the educational system and I learned catechism and mathematics and everything, including writing, through Irish. Yet I left school without being able to speak a word of Irish. Why is it still the case that 95% of people who have completed their schooling are not able to speak a word of Irish? This is a sign there is something wrong with the way they were taught. Why has there been an upsurge in gaelscoileanna all over the country? It is because people want their children to learn Irish but they are of the view that the national schools are not able to do so. If that is the case there is something wrong with the educational system.

The Minister has responsibility for the Irish language. The Minister for Education and Science is trying to interfere with the gaelscoileanna. She wanted the gaelscoileanna to use Irish but now she wants the gaelscoileanna to teach English. As somebody who does not speak Irish, this does not make sense to me. I suggest the Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, take the Minister for Education and Science aside and ask her why, if the gaelscoileanna are working, they should now have to spend ten or 20 minutes a day teaching English. This does not make sense and something must be done.

There has been too much hypocrisy associated with the Irish language for too long. I would love to be able to speak Irish and I am sure everybody in this House would love to be able to speak Irish. There are two reasons I cannot speak Irish. The education system is not right. The Minister and Deputy McGinley are two excellent Irish speakers. I meet Irish speakers from the Gaeltacht on a daily basis who talk to me in English as I do not have Irish but other people who are Irish speakers but not from the Gaeltacht will put up their noses at those of us who cannot speak Irish. They put up their noses again when we try to speak a few words of Irish because they think they are better than everybody else because they can speak the Irish language.

If we want to teach the Irish language, we must ensure that people enjoy learning the language. I always remember being abused by a Christian Brother — I use the word "abused" — when I could not pronounce the word "focal". I will never forget that word until the day I die. He beat me and battered me until I said it. I will not put on the record of the House the word I used, after which he told me to sit down. I should have used that word sooner and I would not have been black and blue. My father wanted to go to the school the next day to use a few words in Irish to him but I stopped him. This is the reason the Irish language is the way it is; the people who taught it in the past. If they could not teach you, they tried to beat it into young people. This is the reason the Irish language is in the state it is today.

The gaelscoileanna along with the revival of Gaelic music, dance and culture, are doing more for the Irish language. The Oireachtas festival was held in Westport last week. I come from Cathair na Mart. The people of Westport responded to the Oireachtas event last weekend. It was an excellent exhibition of the Irish language, Irish culture and young people enjoying themselves without having to take over a town. They came and enjoyed themselves and it was a great weekend. Everything went well and people enjoyed the sean nós and the dancing and the Irish culture at its best. I compliment Piarais Ó Raghallaigh and his wife and everybody involved for the hard work.

I have never visited Farmleigh but maybe I will have dinner there when I am a Minister or spend a night there.

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