Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

The Minister of State can contradict the numbers for as long as he wants, but I do not think the census statistics lie.

It is important to note the three real ideas that Deputy Kenny is looking to have in place, namely, reform, renewal and revival. Anybody misinterpreting them and stating otherwise is wrong. The idea of revival is important. Deputy Kenny proposed that after the junior certificate, people who wished to take Irish as a subject would have a choice. They could take a subject called communicating in Irish, where there would be an emphasis on the spoken language, and 50% of the marks in the subject would be awarded for a comhrá examination. Others, who would really have a love of the language and wished to learn of the heritage and literature of the Irish language, could take a subject tailored to that effect. These people could specialise in such a way.

It is possible to make Irish a living language if we have people speaking the language. Why can this be done in other areas but it cannot be done with our own language? This debate is worthy of attention. In a recent MRBI poll, 62% of the population agreed with the elimination of the compulsion to do Irish to leaving certificate level. It should be there as a choice, and people should be given the opportunity to learn the language for the love of it rather than being compelled to do so.