James Bannon (Fine Gael)

There was a great deal of praise in the House last week and today for the Irish handling of the EU Presidency and I do not take from that in the slightest way. However, I and others are disappointed the Government did not avail of the opportunity during its Presidency to enhance the status of the Irish language within the EU. Fianna Fáil, the Republican Party, has for years promised it would enhance our culture and heritage yet it has done nothing. Ireland is one of the few EU countries that does not have its language as an official language of the Union. It is important we debate this subject with regard to achieving similar status for the Irish language as other EU languages.