Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to make two brief points. First, I welcome the fact that the Minister has listened and taken on board our suggestion. That is very helpful and, hopefully, we will able to get some resolution when we discuss it as a group again. Second, I would definitely not support anything that is in any way elitist particularly around the Irish language because I am always conscious of the fact that many people did not get the opportunity to learn the language in the way they would have liked and they have worked very hard to get their children into Gaelscoileanna so that their children and future generations can learn the language. Many people who are not originally from this country send their children to Gaelscoileanna. It is great to see children of other nationalities speaking the Irish language. I would always favour that we would reach out and encourage people to speak the Irish language rather than being in any way elitist about it. Those are the two points I wanted to put on the record.

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