Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The State has a constitutional duty to promote the Irish language, which is also its clear policy. When it comes to delivering, it always seems to be a case of listing what we are doing while not really doing anything. There are many Gaelscoileanna in this city. In many cases, and with great difficulty, the communities behind these Gaelscoileanna have provided naíonraí. One would have thought that the Department would have a positive policy to make sure that there was a naíolann or crèche connected with every Gaelscoil and naíonra. It should not be a matter of whether the market wants it, in which case it would be delivered, but a positive policy driven by the Minister's Department as part of the national policy on the promotion of the Irish language. When one gives two languages to children of one, two or three years, one gives them a lifetime present for free which will give them a huge advantage throughout the rest of their lives while also making it easier to learn a third, fourth or fifth language, as has been well proven.

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