Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

The amendments, which will have a bearing on us tabling amendments, are not yet available to us. Serious issues are contained in the Bill. When will the Government amendments be available? I presume we can table our amendments before 11 a.m. tomorrow instead. If we do not get through all the amendments on Thursday, could we defer the Bill until next week? It is a very important Bill and we should not rush it.

I overheard the other House discuss the fact it was Seachtain na Gaeilge last week. The country is now very rich in terms of the diversity of languages spoken and it is not just two languages that are spoken. The Fine Gael leader, Deputy Kenny, asked the Taoiseach about translation facilities in the House for Irish. Perhaps it is time we looked to expand the translation service to include other languages.

There are people working in this country whose first language is not English. They are entitled to write to any of us as Members of the Oireachtas and are entitled to a reply. If we were to get letters from the large number of people working, paying taxes and making a contribution to society, we should be able to reply to them in their own languages. As I said, they are making a valuable contribution to every aspect of Irish life. The purpose of democracy is to include people from all backgrounds.