Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a chur in iúl do gach aon Teachta a ghlac páirt sa díospóireacht seo inniu.

While there were some positive proposals and constructive statements, it is disappointing that some Deputies did not use their time to be constructive, rather they spent their time giving out and offered little by way of solutions and fresh thinking on the promotion of the Irish language. Deputy Brendan Griffin offered a good suggestion that towns in Gaeltacht areas twin with towns outside them. That is certainly a good idea that is worth progressing.

Deputy Aindrias Moynihan had some interesting things to say about the school in Ballincollig. Perhaps he might pass on the details to me and I will be happy to pass them on to the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Richard Bruton.

I want to remind some Opposition Deputies of the reason funding for the Gaeltacht was cut. It was due to the economic crisis in which the last Fianna Fáil-led Government landed the country. Also, funding was not cut only in the Gaeltacht; it was cut across the budgets of all Departments.

I want to set the record straight. It was during the term of the previous Government that the derogation for the Irish language in the European Union was granted.

Níl mórán Gaeilge agam ach ba mhaith liom léargas a thabhairt ar chuid de na beartais a bheidh i gceist ag an Rialtas seo chun tacú le caomhnú na teanga.

Deputies will be aware that the programme for a partnership Government recognises that the Irish language is of crucial importance to our heritage and culture and includes a number of specific comments to preserve and support the language. By systematically implementing the 20-year strategy for the Irish language, the new Government will help increase the number of people using Irish in their daily lives and ensure Irish becomes a more visible language in today's society both as a spoken language and in areas such as signage and literature.

Much debate has centred around the lack of funding. Deputies will be pleased to know the programme for Government also contains a focus on job creation in the Gaeltacht through Údarás na Gaeltachta, which will share a €300 million jobs fund with Enterprise Ireland.

The Government also wants to encourage the attendance by children in Irish preschools, naíonraí, in Gaeltacht areas. We recognise the importance of the status of Irish as a full working language of the European Union institutions and work towards ending the derogation. The derogation has been lifted and a recruitment process will begin shortly. We plan to increase investment in the Irish language as the public finances allow.

Like other Deputies, I studied Irish and sat exams in school but, like so many people who learned Irish in school, my competency in the language has faded over the years because I did not have cause to use it. I have made efforts to improve my Irish during the past two years and I plan to redouble these efforts in the years ahead. I acknowledge the huge amount of work done by my colleague, Deputy Joe McHugh, his role as Minister of State with responsibility for the Gaeltacht. He had full delegated responsibility for the Gaeltacht and the Irish language during his term of office and he confounded his critics by throwing himself wholeheartedly into the language. He is a fantastic example of how it is possible to reconnect with the language. His experience will have encouraged others to be brave enough to speak the cúpla focal again. People who lecture others about not having fluent Irish and not being able to speak the language put people off speaking Irish and, sometimes, do more damage to the language. I acknowledge the passion for the language held by so many Members of the House.

Earlier, Deputy Catherine Murphy said there was much more interest in our culture in the United States then there was here. I refute this comment. There has been a major revival and interest in our culture, heritage and history, which was highlighted and reflected in the 2016 commemorations. A major revival in and hunger for our culture has been at the heart of the commemorations. We need only look at the schools flag programme, Proclamation day and how our young people reconnected their flag in their history. I acknowledge the co-operation of many organisations in the commemoration. I particularly thank the teachers of Ireland who helped our young people connect with our heritage and culture.

We must all work together in the best interests of the language and explore new ways to support and expand the use of Irish so it permeates through our lives and all parts of our daily activities. Even if we use only a few words of Irish, we should think about Irish, and we must encourage more of that. Gabhaim buíochas arís leis na Teachtaí uile a labhair ar an ábhar seo.

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