Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following:

"Seanad Éireann,

—recognises the constitutional position of Irish as the national language and the first official language of the State;

—acknowledges the Government's success in gaining recognition for Irish as an official language of the European Union;

—further acknowledges the Government's increased support for TG4;

—believes that these measures are important in raising the esteem in which the language is held in society in general, something which naturally has an effect on students' interest in learning Irish;

—notes that in the 2002 census, 140,000 more people classified themselves as Irish speakers than had been the case in the 1996 census, with significant growth in the number of people outside the Gaeltacht who speak Irish;

—further notes that this year, for the first time, there is a gaelscoil in every county in the country, a development which is reflective of an increased desire among parents to educate their children through Irish;

—acknowledges that in recent years a new curriculum has been introduced for Irish at primary level, modern literature and film have been added to the leaving certificate curriculum and there has been a substantial increase in investment in texts and resources to support the teaching of Irish;

—further acknowledges that the Minister for Education and Science has made very clear her intention to reform how Irish is taught at senior cycle level in particular and has asked the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment to make proposals for curriculum change to her as a matter of priority, and for these proposals to include greater emphasis on the spoken language; and

—believes that all parties should support reform of how Irish is taught in our schools rather than jeopardising the future of the language by calling for its status in our education system to be downgraded."

I welcome the Minister of State and I wish to start with cúpla focail as Ghaeilge. Molaim i gconaí daoine nach bhfuil a lán Gaeilge acu as iarracht a dhéanamh Gaeilge a labhairt sa Seanad. Cé nach bhfuil a lán Gaeilge agam féin, is mian liom a rá go bhfuil mé ag tabhairt tacaíochta don leasú a tá curtha síos ag an Aire. I always admire Senators who come into this House and make an effort to speak Irish. While I may not have the blas myself and am not good at speaking Irish, I wish to have my cúpla focail on the record because of my interest in the revival of the Irish language.

The wording on the proposed amendment is self-explanatory. Irish is recognised in the Constitution as the national language, and the Government is clearly committed to promoting it. That is evidenced by its increased funding and support for TG4 and the Gaeltacht areas. The Government has also introduced the Official Languages Act and succeeded in making Irish an official language in the EU.