Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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5. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht cad atá á dhéanamh ag an Rialtas chun cabhrú le tuismitheoirí a bhfuil Gaeilge acu a dteanga a sheachadadh go dtí an chéad ghlúin eile. [31640/14]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a ghabháil leis an Aire agus leis an Aire Stáit, ach, faraor, caithfidh mé a rá nach féidir liom sin a dhéanamh mar go bhfuil sé dochreidte nach bhfuil Gaeilge fheidhmeach acu, cé go bhfuil dualgas i leith na Gaeilge ar an Roinn.

Mar is eol don Aire Stáit, tá na saineolaithe tar éis a rá nach bhfuil ach 800 páistí sa Ghaeltacht anois le Gaeilge ó dhúchas. Tá práinn uafásach maidir leis an nGaeilge sa Ghaeltacht faoi láthair. Tá an tír ar fad ag iarraidh a fháil amach cad atá an Rialtas chun déanamh.

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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Cinnte, tá cleachtadh de dhíth orm. I am prepared to put in the work in this job as in any job. I have already stated that I must do a refresher course and am prepared to do it. This is about ensuring the job is done correctly. I will do it to be best of my ability.

Tá sé ráite sa Straitéis 20 Bliain don Ghaeilge 2010-2030 go bhfuil an-tábhacht leis an Ghaeilge a chur ar aghaidh mar theanga bheo laistigh den teaghlach agus idir na glúine. Is é an cur chuige atá ag mo Roinn ná creatlach thacaíochta a chruthú trína bhféadfar an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn ar bhealach nádúrtha laistigh de líonta tí agus de phobail.

Is é aidhm an chláir tacaíochta teaghlaigh an Ghaeilge a threisiú mar theanga teaghlaigh agus pobail sa Ghaeltacht i gcomhréir leis an straitéis. Mar chuid den chlár, tá pacáiste tacaíochta ar fáil ar iarratas ó mo Roinn do thuismitheoirí ina bhfuil físeáin, leabhair agus dlúthdhioscaí atá oiriúnach do pháistí. Go nuige seo, tá 2,340 pacáiste dáilte ar theaghlaigh éagsúla.

Os rud é gurb iad na blianta tosaigh i saol an pháiste na blianta is tábhachtaí maidir le sealbhú agus saibhriú teanga, fógraíodh scéim úr i mí an Mhárta 2014 chun tacú le naíolanna agus naíonraí atá ag feidhmiú trí Ghaeilge sa Ghaeltacht. Faoin scéim seirbhísí réamhscoile agus iarscoile, tá deontais faoi leith ar fiú €335,700 in iomlán iad thar thréimhse trí bliana ceadaithe do ocht gcinn de sheirbhísí réamhscoile sa Ghaeltacht. Ina theannta sin, tá deontas suas le €120,000 in iomlán thar thréimhse trí bliana ceadaithe don eagraíocht Tuismitheoirí na Gaeltachta le cumasú dóibh forbairt a dhéanamh ar na seirbhísí a chuirtear ar fáil do theaghlaigh atá ag tógáil a bpáistí le Gaeilge sa Ghaeltacht.

Ní miste a rá go bhfuil mo Roinn ag cur tacaíocht leanúnach ar fáil do bhearta éagsúla a bhfuil tábhacht ar leith ag baint leo do theaghlaigh, ina measc scéim na gcúntóirí teanga, faoina bhfuil cúntóirí teanga fostaithe i mbunscoileanna Gaeltachta chun cabhrú le páistí an Ghaeilge a shealbhú agus a shaibhriú; scéim na gcampaí samhraidh, a chuireann deiseanna foghlama agus spraoi trí mheán na Gaeilge ar fáil d'aos óg na Gaeltachta le linn an tsamhraidh; agus scéim na bhfoghlaimeoirí Gaeilge, a thacaíonn le córas na gcoláistí Gaeilge sa Ghaeltacht.

Ar ndóigh, cuireann mo Roinn maoiniú suntasach ar fáil fosta d'Údarás na Gaeltachta agus d'Fhoras na Gaeilge, a thacaíonn leis an Ghaeilge a sheachadadh ar aghaidh go dtí an chéad ghlúin eile, taobh istigh agus taobh amuigh den Ghaeltacht.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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I have no doubt about the Minister of State's commitment to learning the language at this stage. However, the ministerial responsibility for the Gaeltacht-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Will the Deputy put a supplementary question relating to the reply? This is not about the Minister of State's Irish.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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I am and I have a minute. The ministerial responsibility for the Gaeltacht is not an Irish language course in itself.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Put the supplementary question.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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There are 800 children with native Irish in schools in the Gaeltacht. The Irish language study carried out seven years ago reported that Irish as a community language in the State had 20 years left. There are now 13 years left. Whereas people currently give out about English language documents having to be translated into Irish, we will now have to have Irish language documents translated into English so that the Ministers can understand them. The working language of the Department now becomes English because at its top the Ministers themselves cannot understand Irish. The Ministers are saying to these children to learn Irish and speak Irish among themselves and their families, but not to speak it to the Ministers as they do not have it.

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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In focusing on the Deputy's question, which is a good one, I note that this is about bringing the Irish language into people's homes and getting parents to speak it. Nuair a bhí mé i mo chodladh aréir, bhí mé ag smaoineamh i nGaeilge. I was thinking in the language for the first time in a long time. We must get people thinking in the language - ag smaoineamh sa teanga. There is a challenge with the Irish language and I am asking people to follow me on my journey whereby we can reach out to people who got Cs, Bs, and As in the leaving certificate examinations but do not speak it. They have a grá for the language. I ask people to look at that. There is a barrier to getting people involved in the language.

I am conscious of my role as Aire Stáit for the Gaeltacht. That includes the Irish language and the massive challenges around unemployment - dífhostaíocht - and emigration. I will work on those issues. Rugadh mé lasmuigh den Ghaeltacht agus tá mé in mo chonaí lasmuigh di, but I live close to it and I know the needs.

I share the Deputy's concerns. I am not being dismissive in relation to the point made. I share the Deputy's concerns and I am willing to work him and other spokespersons on arts, heritage and the Gaeltacht.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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At the start of the year we had the unprecidented event of An Coimisinéir Teanga, the Ombudsman for the Irish language, resigning such was the disaster of Government policy and commitment to the Irish language. This has never before happened in this State or in any other country. The coimisinéir did not take that decision lightly. He did so because at every step this Government has reduced the level of investment in and emphasis on the Irish language, so much so that people from the Gaeltacht - taxpayers - who want to do their business in the first language of this State can no longer do so because such services are not available to them.

This Government is sending out a horrendous message in regard to the Irish language in this country. It is literally saying that people should speak it themselves, but should not speak it to the State services, including the health services or to us.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy must conclude. We are over time.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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This Government is not motivated to provide services through Irish to people in the Gaeltacht and members of the Government are clearly not motivated to learn it so that they can do the job asked of them.

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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No question arises in terms of my motivation rather it is a question of confidence - muinín. I am one of a large category of individuals who understands what people are saying when speaking Irish, including the Deputy in terms of the questions he has asked, but I do not have the confidence to converse in Irish. There are four processes to learning any language, the first of which is éist - listen - which is an issue raised in the Deputy's question. We should, perhaps, work on this by way of broadcasting and bringing Irish into people's homes in the morning. The other three processes are labhairt, léamh agus scríobh. When we all went to school we started with the fourth process, which is scríobh. We started writing the language before we understood it. We did not converse in Irish. I did not speak Irish to my tuismitheoirí when I went home in the evening. We started at the end of the process when we should have started with listening to the spoken word. We should be encouraging all of the great advocates of the Irish language, people who understand and speak it, to come to the fore. That is our job. As an individual, I am not going to change the challenges facing us in terms of the Irish language but I want to be a catalyst for it. I want to be the medium through which the many great groups representing the Irish language come to the fore. A consultative group has been already set up by the Government. I propose to work with that group.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Those involved will have to speak in English to the Minister of State.

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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One individual will not save this language.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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The Government is forcing organisations to engage through English.

Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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This will be done by the people who have a love for the Irish language.