Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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37. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht an bhfuil sé ar intinn aici bualadh le haon eagraíocht Ghaeltachta sa todhchaí agus cathain go díreach a dhéanfaidh sí é seo. [40763/17]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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I will take this question in English because I want the senior Minister to answer, if possible. Irish is a massive part of our heritage. It is rich in vibrant history, literature and thought, and it is as rich as the language of any country in Europe. It is a key part of the diversity of this planet. Language is a structure of thought and if we lose those structures of thought, the world is a poorer place as a result. Irish can be part of our future. Thousands of families are struggling to raise their families through Irish but they are meeting a State that enforces compulsory English on them. In other words, it does not allow them to fulfil their everyday lives in their chosen language. That language, Irish, and the Gaeltacht are key elements of the Minister's political responsibility in her Department. To date, as I understand it from a reply to a parliamentary question to the Department, the Minister has met just two Gaeltacht organisations, one of them at a drop-in event in Buswells Hotel, which was a half-hour meeting. Unless the senior Minister responsible for an issue is fully enveloped in all of the complexities of the issue, it is impossible for that senior Minister to make those arguments at the Cabinet table and to fight for the funding that is necessary - the funding that the Minister of State, Deputy McHugh, and I have discussed. What steps will the Minister take to envelop herself in the work of those community organisations, which are just waiting to engage with her?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I wish to assure the Deputy that, during my years as Minister with responsibility for the Gaeltacht, I have met various Gaeltacht organisations on numerous occasions. I work very closely with the Minister of State, Deputy McHugh, and he meets them on a regular basis, which is part of his delegated responsibility.

In terms of the budget, of course we will be making the case for funding. The Minister of State, Deputy McHugh, and I work as a team on that and we will both go together to make the case for increased funding for the entire Department.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Conradh na Gaeilge, which will be celebrating its heritage in the coming years, has stated that it has asked for a meeting with the Minister and, so far, it has been refused a meeting. I received a reply to a parliamentary question which states that the Minister has only met two Gaeltacht organisations since coming to office. One of those was a meeting with Údarás na Gaeltachta and the other was a drop-in event with Conradh na Gaeilge in Buswells Hotel.

I was in Gaoth Dobhair a couple of weeks ago and met with a comhar cumann there and I also met with a comhar cumann in Corca Dhuibhne in the west Kerry Gaeltacht. They could outline to the Minister in 15 minutes the infrastructure of the language networks that exist in the Gaeltacht. They could very quickly tell her where policy could be changed and where the funding that would make all the difference could be focused.

We mentioned, in the previous debate, the issues relating to the Irish language plans for the Gaeltacht. The former Minister of State, Dinny McGinley, told us this was going to be the saviour of the language in the Gaeltacht. Yet, after the massive amount of work they have done on the matter, the relevant people in the Gaeltacht are telling me that they are so depressed by the Government's devaluing of their work, they are willing to throw the plans in question into the bin. I am not exaggerating. They are so disappointed by the effort on the part of and level of funding provided by the Government in respect of these language plans that they are demotivated from taking the plans any further.

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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Chuir an Teachta an cheist trí Ghaeilge. Mar atá fhios aige, bheadh an freagra trí-----

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Chuir mé an cheist ar an Aire sinsearach.

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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Táimse freagrach as an teanga, as an Ghaeltacht agus as na hoileáin.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Is í sin an fhadhb.

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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Bhí an ceist agam, agus tá sí agamsa.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Is í sin an fhadhb.

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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Ní fadhb í.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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Is fadhb í mar chuir mé ar an Aire í.

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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Ní fadhb í. D'éist mé leis an Teachta agus tá mise ag caint anois. Tá rudaí dearfacha i gceantair na Gaeltachta agus tá rudaí dearfacha taobh amuigh den Ghaeltacht agus sa Tuaisceart fosta. Tháinig suas le céad daoine go dtí mo pharóiste féin i rith an tsamhraidh chun ranganna Gaeilge a dhéanamh. Tá rudaí thar a bheith dearfach ann. Bhí mise i Sord ar maidin agus chas mé leis na daoine óga agus na leanaí istigh i mbunscoil i Sord. Tá suas le 600 leanaí sa scoil ag labhairt Gaeilge. Chomh maith leis sin, tá dualgaisí ollmhóra orm maidir leis an Ghaeilge agus an teanga. Chas mise le Conradh na Gaeilge nuair a tháinig mé isteach sa phost úr i mbliana. Beidh mé ag casadh leis na daoine uilig. Bhí cúpla cruinnithe agam an tseachtain atá thart i nGaillimh. Tá mé i gcónaí ag casadh le daoine timpeall na tíre agus istigh sa Ghaeltacht. Níl sé ceart bheith ag caint fadúda na gnéithe diúltacha fadúda an teanga i gcónaí. Ní bhfeicim na rudaí diúltacha. Chím na rudaí dearfacha. Chím na deiseanna. Chím na féidearachtaí sa Ghaeltacht. Tá muidne sa tír in áit difriúil fadúda an teanga. Tá na rudaí dearfacha ann. Tá an spreagadh ag dul ar aghaidh fosta. Níl an tiomantas i gceist fosta maidir leis na tuismitheoirí. Cinnte, tá acmhainní i gceist i gcónaí agus chím an díospóireacht sin, ach tá an Roinn Oideachas agus Scileanna agus mo Roinn féin freagrach as an teanga, Tá mé ag obair go cóngarach le mo chomhghleacaí, an tAire, an Teachta Heather Humphreys. Bhí cruinniú againn i gContae Mhuineacháin cúpla seachtain ó shin agus bhíomar ag caint fadúda an teanga agus Éire Ildánach. Beidh an teanga fite fuaite sa chúig pháirt den togra sin an bhliain seo chugainn. Tá mise ag leanúint ar aghaidh le bliain na Gaeilge 2018. Bhí cómhrá dearfach agam leis na heagraíochtaí maidir leis sin cúpla seachtain ó shin agus b'fhéidir go mbeidh comhpháirtíocht agus comhráite dearfacha de dhíth maidir leis sin. I gconaí, tá rudaí dearfacha ann agus tá an teanga ag dul ó neart go neart.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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I am going to continue in English in view of the fact that I addressed this question to the senior Minister. The answer is in the words "senior" and "junior". Irish is not a junior issue; it is a senior issue. The Minister of State mentioned there are many wonderful things happening in respect of the Irish language throughout the country and I agree with him. However, the critical indicator of success is the number of people who stated on their census forms that they speak the language in the Gaeltacht and outside of the Gaeltacht. According to the figures, that number is crumbling.

I spoke to an Irish language education expert. She told me that there are 800 children in the primary education sector who come from Irish-speaking families in the whole of the Gaeltacht. That shows the thread on which language as a community language exists. Unless we have the Irish language spoken as a community language, it loses all its richness and it is not a daily experience.

The Minister of State mentioned Gaelscoileanna. Some 25% of the parents of this country want Gaelscoil education for their children yet just 5% currently receive it. Within the Department of Education and Skills there is no mechanism for an English language school to flip to become an Irish language school. If it is a Catholic school, the Department would help it become a secular school, which is fine, but there is no mechanism within the Department to allow an English language school to become a Gaelscoil, despite the fact 20% of parents are being refused the type of education they would select for their children.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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There is a number of schemes, as the Minister of State has outlined, for promoting the Irish language. I am particularly interested in promoting the Irish language in areas that are not Gaeltacht areas, which the Deputy will appreciate, as well as giving supports to the Gaeltacht areas. For example, we were able to support an Irish scheme which was a two week summer school for young people and it was all done as Gaeilge. I visited them in my county. It is a great initiative. The children were engaging in culture, games and all through Irish. It was wonderful. I believe that we need to have more of those types of initiatives, especially the Gaelbhratach programme in schools. This is where people use Irish every day in normal school life. This is important.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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How many schools are involved in that?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I do not have the figures to hand but I know that it is very much promoted and that Members have all attended events in our local schools where the schools have achieved that standard. This is important. I feel strongly that it is about integrating Irish language throughout our everyday lives. That is what we want to do and we want to see more of that. Through the Creative Ireland programme we will have Irish right across it because it is so much part of our culture and our heritage. Deputy Tóibín can rest assured that the Irish language is very much considered such an important part of my Department's work. We will continue to work to promote the language, to encourage more people to use it and to engage in it.