Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)

The 20-year strategy for the Irish language lays out a comprehensive strategy for preservation and promotion of the Irish language. The strategy encompasses a total of nine priority areas for action, namely, education, the Gaeltacht, family transmission of the language-early intervention, administration, services and community, media and technology, dictionaries, legislation and status, and economic life and cross-cutting initiatives.

The most immediate priority is the linguistic crisis in the Gaeltacht. The Comprehensive Linguistic Study of the Use of Irish in the Gaeltacht of 2007 indicated that, without urgent remedial action, Irish may only have a lifespan of 15 to 20 years as a community and household language in the Gaeltacht. The strategy proposes to address this by including the activities of the main State institutions with responsibilities in the Gaeltacht within the framework of an integrated strategic language planning approach for Gaeltacht communities. The Government has now approved the preparation of legislation to give effect to these measures.

The issue of how best to strengthen the language in areas peripheral to the Gaeltacht will be examined in this context. It is clear from the strategy that new areas might also be included in the Gaeltacht if they meet the linguistic criteria under the proposed new Gaeltacht Act.

Based on recommendations in the 20-year strategy and in the linguistic study already referred to, statutory recognition of the following categories of Irish-speaking communities could also be accommodated, namely, first, bailte seirbhísí Gaeltachta or Gaeltacht service towns, which would provide a statutory framework for the recognition and definition of such as being towns on the periphery of the Gaeltacht which play a significant role in the provision of services to the Gaeltacht communities adjacent to them; and, second, network Gaeltacht areas, a category which would allow for targeted language planning initiatives to develop new language communities-networks outside the Gaeltacht. These would be predominantly in urban communities that have achieved a basic critical mass of community and State support for the Irish language, such as child care facilities through Irish, primary and second level education through Irish, Irish language youth clubs and other services, including mother and toddler groups, and Irish language religious services.

I consider that there may be merit in the Deputy's proposal to examine the possibility of twinning small villages and towns in the Gaeltacht areas with villages and towns of similar size that were once in Gaeltacht areas.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

The proposed legislation envisages the recognition and definition in statute of these Gaeltacht categories and targeting them with relevant types of support measures.

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