Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 6, line 27, after "a" to insert "bilingual".

Mar an gcéanna leis an leasú deireanach a bhí againn, baineann leasú Uimh. 2 le hOstaí an Rí agus leasú Uimh. 7 leis an Dlí-Chumann. An prionsabal céanna atá i gceist sa dhá leasú.

Amendment No. 2 proposes to insert the word "bilingual" or "dátheangach" before the word "course". As I pointed out on Committee Stage, the course provided by the King's Inns is delivered solely through Irish. This may cause difficulties for students with a poor grasp of the Irish language. In this context, I refer to an extract from Rialtas na hÉireann: Ráiteas i Leith na Gaeilge 2006. In setting forth the "modern-day context of the Irish language", it states: "Ireland is a bilingual state in which Irish is the first official language according to Article 8 of the Constitution of Ireland." It is not acceptable that this course should be delivered solely through Irish and that a student seeking an explanation in English should find that no such explanation is forthcoming. That is my concern in putting forward this amendment.

For the course to be useful to students, it should be provided in Irish and English. Both the Minister of State and I are former national school teachers and, as such, former teachers of the Irish language. It was my experience that a bilingual approach was often the most helpful, particularly in the case of children who were experiencing difficulties with the Irish language. While I strongly support the rationale for this particular course, it does not represent the best way forward for it to be delivered only in the Irish language. Students with a poor standard of Irish would do better if a bilingual approach were taken. Instead of delivering an exclusive Irish-only course, a bilingual delivery would serve to improve the proficiency in Irish of all students, particularly those with a weak grasp of the language.

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