Joe O'Toole (Independent)

No. 9 on the Order Paper is a Bill in the name of Senator Coghlan and I which arose due to a difficulty arising from the Official Languages Act, particularly with reference to the decision to change the name of the town of Dingle-Daingean Uí Chúis to An Daingean. The House might note that in the meantime Kerry County Council has decided to conduct a plebiscite of the people of that town to establish their views and to facilitate a decision in this regard.

The intention of our Official Languages (Amendment) Bill 2005, which we have chosen to hold back for the present, is to take note of the views of local residents. However, the Minister has stated that this plebiscite will have no legal standing and that he is prepared to ignore it, despite the fact the Official Languages Act, which he used to change the name to An Daingean, allows him to change it back.

The House will be pleased to hear that last week the Dingle GAA club, established for a century, changed its name to Dingle-Daingean Uí Chúis, as did the local regatta club and various other groups in Dingle. I have no doubt what way the people will speak on this issue.

We would like to know — I am sure Senator Coghlan shares my view — whether the Government will accept the views of the local people. A detailed plebiscite will take place in October, involving a seven-stage process in which people will be asked whether they accept the dátheangach version of the name of the town, Dingle-Daingean Uí Chúis. If that is the case, will the Government accept that this is the way forward? I look forward to hearing the Government's view, which would be helpful to Senator Coghlan and me in deciding whether to proceed with the Bill.

That is all I will say as I do not want to open up the debate. The information sought is important and it is not unreasonable to ask for it. I know the Taoiseach and Government would not be unreasonable in this regard but there is one person in Government who is extraordinarily unreasonable.