Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I would love to be able to speak Irish and I am making an effort to learn. Certain people had a little go at me about the Irish language. As I said at the time, I was not as lucky as some of them as I was not born with a golden spoon but I survived without it. I would love to be able to speak Irish. Two of my three children are very good Irish speakers. They got no support or help from me but the reason they are good is because they wanted to learn Irish. It was taught to them and not beaten into them.

It is time the Minister and the Department worked out a better system for teaching Irish in primary schools. There is no reason a young child starting in first class and leaving in sixth class should not know the Irish language. It should be like a first language to them. They would then have no difficulty in continuing their studies of the language. I am delighted to speak on this motion. I hope the Minister and his Department and those who love and are interested in the Irish language, and are not talking down to those who cannot speak it, will be provided with resources from the Government. I hope also that the Minister for Education and Science will support the Minister, the Irish language and the gaelscoileanna because that is the way forward.

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