Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)

We had enough street politics in this country for many years. All we want now is to settle our differences in this Chamber. It is very difficult to settle any differences when one is obliged to speak to empty benches on the other side of the House.

I do not believe that what has happened here this morning does any great service to the Gaeltacht or to the ordinary people who live there. The latter and other communities outside the Gaeltacht are seeking leadership in the context of what they can do to save the Irish language. The Bill before the House is merely enabling legislation which provides the structure to allow us to devise plans to bring the language forward. A national effort is going to be made in this regard and many Government Departments will be involved. The Taoiseach and I attended a meeting of the cabinet sub-committee on the future of the Irish language this morning at which we discussed various matters relating to the language. A similar meeting was held in June and it is planned to hold another immediately after the recess. Dúirt duine éigin nach bhfuil an Rialtas seo i ndáiríre. Tá an Rialtas seo i ndáiríre, tá an coiste ar bun agus bhí cúig chruinniú ag an choiste sin. Ar maidin, bímid istigh ag 9 a.m. fá choinne cúrsaí Ghaeilge agus Ghaeltachta a phlé. Tá cruinniú eile socraithe don am nuair a thiocfaimid ar ais. Choinnigh muid Údarás na Gaeltachta. Is cinnte go bhfuilimid i ndáiríre agus tá an Rialtas ag tabhairt tosaíochta don Bhille seo.

I am aware that other Ministers and their Departments are lining up to introduce and enact legislation. We have given priority to the legislation before the House because the Taoiseach, the cabinet sub-committee, everyone present in the House and the people of the Gaeltacht understand its importance. The survey that was carried out illustrated the importance of the language. Níl leithscéal ar bith agam.

Bhí a fhios ag achan duine cad é a bhí sa Bhille. In May 2011, I announced what would happen to Údarás na Gaeltachta and the changes that would be made. I also announced an mBille Teanga at that stage. A number of months ago I announced what would be the composition of the board. Thug muid isteach an scéim tacaíochta teanga, the language support scheme, which allows us to focus our efforts in respect of young children. What we are doing in this regard is telling parents - those who live in Gaeltacht areas and those who do not - that they have a choice in the context of deciding what will be their children's first language, namely, Irish or English. By the time a child goes to school, his or her first language is already established. I acknowledge the support we are receiving from the HSE, na húdaráis sláinte, in the context of the co-operation they are giving to us. We are going into hospitals in order to inform people, immediately after their children are born, of the choice to which I refer. If they decide that their children are to be raised through Irish, we provide them with an information package. This package is being developed on an ongoing basis.

These are new departures for the language. The old ways did not work. They certainly did not work in the Gaeltacht. If we had not brought forward this Bill - the philosophy behind which is to give people a say in what is going to happen - I would be extremely pessimistic about the future. In view of the structures we are establishing under the legislation, tá mise an-dóchasach go gcasfaidh an Bille an taoide agus go sábháileoidh sé an teanga.

Mar fhocal scoir, ba mhaith liom buíochas a thabhairt do gach Teachta a tháinig isteach agus a labhair ar an Bhille seo. Ba mhaith liom buíochas a thabhairt do gach Seanadóir a tháinig isteach le cúpla seachtain agus a labhair ar an Bhille sa Teach eile. Bhí siad go léir i ndáiríre agus rinne siad a gcás sa Seanad agus sa Teach seo. Labhair 20 Teachta istigh anseo. A total of 20 Deputies from different parties and from among the ranks of the Independents contributed to the debate on the Bill. Some of them spoke in Irish, while others made their contributions in English. That is immaterial. If a Member is genuine and wants to speak in English, I welcome that and it is fine by me. I have never been someone to use a sledge-hammer to crack a nut. The latter approach has not worked. We want to coax people to come along with us as part of this great movement.

The centenary of the 1916 Rising is approaching. We all know the part played by the Irish language and Conradh na Gaeilge and other Irish-speaking organisations in providing the leadership for that great revolution. When the centenary takes place in 2016, nothing would give me greater pleasure than for there to be an indication that the response to the legislation has been positive. Conradh na Gaeilge will celebrate its 120th anniversary next year, which is another important milestone in our linguistic history. I appeal to it and to all the other language organisations that have been working hard for many years - often without recognition or acknowledgement - to our sporting, cultural and social organisations and to the voluntary committees to come along with us on this great expedition. Let us all get involved and adopt the method of working together or to use the old Irish word "meitheal", ag obair le chéile.

We have nothing to lose by having our own language. I have no intention of repeating myself but as I travelled throughout the country I discovered that there is a well of support for Irish. When the census was taken last year, 1.77 million people expressed an interest in or an ability to speak Irish. It is this enthusiasm, interest and support which we must harness. I hope this Bill, which has been in preparation for so long and for which we have been waiting for over 50 years, will reignite the flame of the past, so that we go forward united. We should forget political parties and affiliations. The language should be above that. In the past, perhaps it was associated with one party or another and it is still said that we are not serious about Irish. I dismiss that as merely a political charge. We all want to do the best, although we may have different approaches. This is the framework in which we must work and I appeal to all Members of the House, leaders of the community, those who are elected, those who work in a voluntary capacity-----

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