John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In the first instance, I wish to notify whomever is due to speak next that I will not use all of the ten minutes available to me. At most, I will use three or four minutes.

I wish to focus on one specific issue relating to the Official Languages Act - and the ten-year review relating thereto - namely, the requirement on the Government to publish policy documents in Irish.

As I understand it, there have been newspaper reports that the draft of the official languages (amendment) Bill includes a provision removing the requirement for the publication in each of the official languages of documents setting out public policy proposals. I have raised the issue previously. According to a national newspaper, the amendment will address one of the main concerns that has arisen with regard to implementation costs associated with the Act.

This is an issue I raised ten years ago in the House when the Official Languages Act was passed. I took the view that the money would have been better used for the Irish language in a different manner. It was perfectly simple. The reason I took this view was that the principal of my secondary school, Fr. Patrick Moran, approached me one day in Dungarvan and make the case to me that it was ridiculous to be printing many of these documents, which no one would read, in Irish when, at the same time, neither he nor the Department could fund students in his school who wanted to do their leaving certificate examination in Irish. He was informed the stream would not and could not be funded after the second year. He suggested something had gone wrong with the policy when something like that occurred. I believe he had a point and I still do. The previous speaker referred to new Gaelscoileanna. I make the case using the example I have just cited that the money being wasted on printing some of these reports in Irish could have been better used in the past ten years on the Irish language.

The people who contacted my office ten years ago were from the Gaeltacht in Ring. They made the case that the provision was ridiculous and that the money would have been better spent elsewhere within the Irish language area. However, it fell on deaf ears. At the time the then Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, who was the author of the legislation, was not having any of it. However, I believe people who were involved in the Irish language at the time did not think it was a good use of money.

How much is at issue? It is difficult to know because it involves every local authority, not only the Departments. I got the figures last week and in some cases they have reduced their costs while in others they have gone up in the past year. Astronomical sums of money are not at issue but over ten years it amounts to millions of euro and if we add in the local authorities, then it amounts to a great deal of money given the publishing, advertising and translation costs.

I am pleased to see this is finally being addressed. I know the Minister of State has referred to the matter in various fora. I am surprised it has taken ten years to realise this money could have been better spent within the Irish language. I am surprised it has taken this Government three years to deal with the matter and act on it.

I said publicly ten years ago that we had made a mistake by supporting this provision in the Official Languages Bill, as it was at the time. The person who was the spokesperson for my party at the time is the Minister of State, Deputy McGinley. His comment at the time was that I was speaking in a personal capacity. It is nice to know that I may no longer be speaking in a personal capacity. It is nice to know that some action is finally being taken on this measure. I am unsure whether this money will go back into the Irish language or whether it will simply be a saving for local authorities and Departments. I have not seen the draft, if such a draft exists, but I am pleased this is finally being addressed after ten years. The money would have been better spent within the Irish language rather than publishing reports that no one reads. Simple measures could have been taken to fund new Gaelscoileanna or streams of education in order that people could have done their leaving certificate examination in Irish. I am pleased it is finally being addressed.

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