Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)

Tá an-áthas orm a bheith sa Dáil inniu ag caint faoin straitéis 20 bliain. Luke 'Ming' agus mise, bhí muid buachaillí dána ar scoil ach inniu táimid fear go maith.

Is é Straitéis 20 Bliain don Ghaeilge an bealach is fearr chun an Ghaeilge a cur chun cinn imeasc na céadta míle daoine, cosúil liomsa, nach bhfuil acu ach cupla focal. Tá ard-mheas agam ar Chonradh na Gaeilge, ar Chomhdháil Náisúnta na Gaeilge agus ar eagraíochtái Gaeilge eile ar fud na tíre. Chuaigh mé go hOileán Cléire chun Gaeilge a fhoghlaim agus tá mé ag dul i bhfeabhas, I think.

I welcome this debate on the Irish language and the 20 year strategy which is the way forward for the hundreds of thousands of people, like myself, who spent up to 13 years in school without a huge love of the language. We have now grown up and see the language and all its traditions as a way forward. We are more confident about how we speak it. It is not the property of those who speak it on a daily basis or teachers and academics. It is about generating a renewed interest. It is open to everyone on the island of Ireland to embrace our culture, history and language.

I enjoyed working closely with Coimisiún na Gaeilge and Conradh na Gaeilge, visiting gaelscoileanna and various groups around the country. One group in Kilrush springs to mind, where middle aged people from many different countries came to have tea in the evening and discuss various daily matters through the medium of Irish. There is a huge and fertile ground for people who have overcome their fears of not being able to speak the Irish language with proficiency.

Let us be honest, we cannot speak the English language very well yet we beat ourselves around the head in trying to speak Irish. If we get it wrong or make one or two mistakes, so what? There are people who do not represent the best of the Irish language. They are an elite, which perhaps includes some of those who wrote a letter to The Irish Times, stating they were very disappointed about my appointment. I know that 99% of those who represent the Irish language and whom I have met do not share that view. I want to put on the record of the House that the trust and support I received was second to none.

I wish my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Dinny McGinley, well for the future. He represents the Irish language in his area extremely well. I have paid tribute to all of the organisations involved. Deputy Gerry Adams rightly said that much work has been done in regard to trying to speak the Irish language, which must be recognised. Over the years we have sometimes had a hang-up that the Irish language was the preserve of a few but it is the preserve of everybody, cross-party and cross-Border. Finally, dúirt Obama, "Is féidir linn", ach i mo chás, mar a dúirt Arnold Schwarzenegger, "Beidh mé ar ais."

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