Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

I am happy to make a brief contribution on this important Bill, the Legal Practitioners (Irish Language) Bill 2007. I am sensitive to a group of young people in the Gallery who are still attending school and very much involved in learning Irish. I absolutely enjoyed Irish at school but as I have aged, my Irish vocabulary has become rusty. I have tried to correct this recently, as other colleagues have, by going to the Irish language classes here. We are speaking about legal practitioners being encouraged so it would be good if the others were also encouraged. I would promote that idea as I am as rusty as anybody. It is important we make an effort in that regard.

I was impressed by Deputy Thomas Byrne speaking from a legal background. He pointed out that a good time to start with the Irish language is at a very young age, and he spoke about efforts in his constituency. I could talk about efforts in Dublin South-West and Tallaght, and in particular the Irish schools there. These include Scoil Santain, where my son Niall attended and Scoil Chaitlín Maude, which are doing a tremendous job. Not only are they teaching the language but they are helping the cultural revolution that is required in these modern times. Coláiste de hÍde, the second level Irish school in Tymon north, is also promoting that idea. I agree with the point, made by several speakers along with Deputy Byrne that we should not give up the fight to the Irish language message across. I admit I am not a practitioner, unfortunately, but I want to prove commitment to the language. In the context of this Bill it is a relevant point to make.

I listened to the debate earlier, including fine contributions by colleagues, including Deputy Brian O'Shea. He did not agree with everything said on the Government benches. It is also beneficial that the public sees us dealing with this type of business, which could be seen as somewhat routine. It is right for us to take it very seriously.

I hope when the media covers the topic it will not be buried. I will watch "Oireachtas Report" tonight, as I often do, and I hope this debate will get the level of attention I believe is necessary. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Pat The Cope Gallagher, would appreciate the point. I do not mean to speak on Tallaght much, but my local parish priest, Fr. Frank Herron, is from Donegal.

It should be noted that the Bill replaces existing statutory provisions for Irish language competence for barristers and solicitors and promotes, as has been noted by several speakers, the provision of legal services through Irish, as well as better use of the Irish language by legal practitioners. We know that under present arrangements there is no obligation for either the King's Inns or the Law Society to provide compulsory or optional courses in the Irish language for students undertaking either the barrister at law degree course or the professional practice course in the Law Society.

Deputy Thomas Byrne made the point that perhaps it is time, almost 100 years after we have gained independence, that the question of some of these phrases and names be considered. There may be traditionalists in the community who do not want this to happen but the Deputy made a fair point.

The Legal Practitioners (Qualification) Act 1929 provides that no person may be admitted by the Chief Justice to practise as a barrister at law in Irish courts unless he or she satisfies the Chief Justice by such evidence as the Chief Justice shall prescribe, that he or she possesses a competent knowledge of the Irish language. Competent knowledge is defined as such a degree of oral and written proficiency in the use of the language as is sufficient to enable a legal practitioner effectively receive instructions, advise clients or examine witnesses and follow proceedings in the Irish language.

The obligation to ensure proficiency in Irish in the case of any barrister who wishes to be called to the Bar lies with the Chief Justice but there is no requirement to include Irish as either an optional or obligatory subject to the King's Inns barrister at law degree course. Any tuition or record of proficiency required is given outside the degree course by King's Inns and arranged so that the Chief Justice can fulfil his or her statutory function.

The 1929 Act applied to solicitors until 1954, when new arrangements were introduced in the Solicitors Act of that year. To qualify for admission as a solicitor, the Act required that the Law Society compel students to undertake two examinations in the Irish language. The first examination applies to persons seeking an apprenticeship and the second applies to those who wish to be admitted as solicitors. The purpose of the second examination is to prove that persons who pass it have a competent knowledge of Irish. That is to say such a degree of oral and written proficiency in the use of the language as is sufficient to enable a solicitor to receive instructions efficiently and to advise clients, to examine witnesses and to follow proceedings in the Irish language. That is the same test as used in the 1929 Act for barristers.

I also share the view expressed by other colleagues about the new Ireland in which we find ourselves with the international community in our State. In my parish, the local school, St. Mark's, in my estate in Springfield has 1,000 pupils, 500 of whom come from 55 different states. Deputy Burke and others made the point that different challenges will come in the future. The Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív made that point strongly in his contribution. There will be challenges in the future where we are encouraging young people from Ireland but of international origin regarding these provisions. It will be interesting to see how that develops in time. The Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, was right to make that point and I am glad that somebody of his stature did so. I expect it will give the Government and future governments food for thought. I wish them well in that regard because it will be a particularly difficult nettle to grasp if that is what it is.

The Bill requires King's Inns and the Law Society to have regard to Government policy on bilingualism and to take reasonable steps to ensure that an adequate number of barristers and solicitors are able to practise the law through the Irish language. The Bill requires King's Inns and the Law Society to provide for courses of study and the establishment of registers by them recording details of practitioners who are able to provide legal services in Irish. This week I had intended to contact various solicitors' practices in my constituency to gauge their response to the Bill. However, because of other business, I found myself, as others do as we approach Christmas, snowed under. However, I intend to seek out all the solicitors in my constituency, all of whom I know, to ascertain how they feel about this provision. I intend to research what level of use of the Irish language is present in all those practices. I suspect it is not just in my constituency that the levels are low. I know in the Minister of State's county of Donegal there would be no problem in finding a solicitor able to deal as Gaeilge. However, I suspect in many other areas, including Waterford and certainly around the Dublin region, there may be challenges and gaps in that regard.

The Bill provides that King's Inns and the Law Society hold courses on Irish language terminology and the understanding of legal texts in the Irish language to enable practitioners to identify the nature of the service being sought and, where appropriate, to facilitate a referral to a practitioner competent to provide the service through Irish. All King's Inns students and the Law Society trainees will be required to complete these courses, which I welcome. King's Inns and the Law Society will also establish an advanced course on the practice of law through the Irish language as an optional subject in their professional training courses. This advanced course would be open to others who are not students but who wish to obtain a competence enabling them to practise law through the Irish language.

Examinations in the practice of law through Irish will be held at least once a year and only those persons who have undertaken the advanced course will be permitted to sit all those examinations. The name and contact details of barristers and solicitors who pass the examinations will be entered on registers established and published by King's Inns and the Law Society. Both bodies will be required to submit an annual report to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on the operation of the new arrangements. In mentioning the Minister, I am sorry he is not here. Like other colleagues, I was sorry to hear of his bereavement and I offer my condolences to his family.

The new arrangements will involve a significant improvement in the teaching of Irish by King's Inns and the Law Society, and will represent a much more effective way of achieving the Government's Irish language objectives. The Bill will provide for a level of proficiency in Irish in the legal profession of a significantly higher standard than is being delivered under existing statutory provisions. It is hoped that all persons wishing to avail of their constitutional right to use Irish in proceedings before the courts can of course do so, which will have considerable support across the House. For many years the passing of the test as specified in the 1929 Act or the 1954 Act did not signify an ability to carry out business through the Irish language. It is clear that the objectives of the existing statutory requirements are not being met. Not all solicitors and barristers are capable of conducting the full range of legal business through the Irish language.

Even those of us who admit to rustiness in the use of the Irish language understand the need for this legislation, which deserves good debate. I have listened to most of today's speeches and there is clearly considerable agreement across the House. It is good to hear that that agreement will be put into force. The Minister should note that many will feel that the Bill should pass as quickly as possible. In this case it will be referred to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights, under the chairmanship of Deputy Peter Power. I know colleagues will take the opportunity to go through the different sections of the Bill line by line, which will be good. I hope that process will be expedited and we will get the opportunity of passing it into law as quickly as possible.

The Minister of State will know that there will be a job to be done by many people, starting with the legal profession, to promote the provisions of this Bill. We need to get the message across that people can and will have the opportunity to conduct their business through Irish. It is important for that to be seen as a voluntary exercise. I recently heard young people saying that they are not happy to have it forced down their throats. It should be given as an option. It is right that we should have an understanding of our language as we approach 100 years after independence.

This would be true in urban areas. People who want to do their business through the Irish language should not be seen as unusual, which is sometimes the case. Even when we get correspondence on different cases as Teachtaí Dála, that may be the reaction. However, it should be the most natural thing in the world for people, if they are competent to do so, to conduct all business through Irish. The Bill not only deals with the Irish language needs of the legal profession, but also sends out a positive message generally, which I know the Minister of State, more than most of us, would strongly support. I am very happy to support the Bill, which I commend to the House.

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