Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I regret that Deputy Deasy is not here because I was hoping that we might be able to inform him about some facts about the Official Languages Act. Deputy Deasy seems to think that I alone managed to convince the entire Oireachtas to pass an Act. He obviously does not know the constitutional background to it but I will put that aside for the moment. Perhaps Deputy Deasy will come back into the House.

I thought the contribution of Deputy Stanton was to the point. I have argued for 20 years that there should be two Irish language courses in schools. For those who do not have a strong background in the Irish language, there would be a course that would basically teach them the language. Those who spoke Irish at home or who had developed a good grasp of the language would have the choice of a second course involving the study of Irish literature.

I could never understand why this is not accepted. If one checks the records of the House, one can see that I have pointed out again and again that when I was attending secondary school in Dublin, I studied mathematics, applied mathematics and physics — I believe it is called maths physics now. Quite honestly, if one studied the physics and mathematics courses and was any good at them, it was a snitch to study the maths physics course and get an honour in it. That was the way it was.

Of course, some children have an advantage going to school. I admit that my children were Irish and English-speaking when they went to school because we spoke Irish all the time at home and they could not miss the English. It was a great advantage but is one supposed to penalise them in the leaving certificate?

I have always felt that the rational way of approaching this in respect of most students is to teach the language as a vernacular. Those who then want to go on to study the literature, which is fantastic, should be allowed to do so. I still have a great grá for poems I learned such as An Bonnán Buí, which is a great satire. Lines such as "'S gur chosúil liom féin é i nós 's i ndath" are very clever and subtle, referring to the poet's name Cathal Buí Mac Giolla Ghunna. However, one must understand the language. If one has a great knowledge and understanding of the language, it is great fun but if one is struggling, it is painful.

Time and again, I have stood up in this House and wondered, for example, at the reality that I see year after year because I am one of many people who open their houses in the summer to students who come to learn Irish. My wife and I still open our house and the students still come. We marvel at how they come with so little Irish and how, after two weeks and six days, they go home with so much. The reality is that they are there just speaking the language and having fun. As long as the ethos is right in respect of the language, they grasp it very well and very quickly and have great fun. They have their little dramas, plays and games. I have argued with the Department of Education and Science that even the Irish colleges still place too much emphasis on a fixed curriculum. When I ran an Irish college, which I have not done for many years, I found that they often learned more Irish out on the basketball court, football pitch or ceilís than they learned in the formal classes.

See this speech in context