Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire, an Teachta Ó Cuív. Tréaslaím leis de bharr a bheith ceaptha mar Aire arís. Tá áthas mór orm go bhfuil stádas á thabhairt don Ghaeilge sa Bhille seo. Thug an Taoiseach spreagadh mór don Ghaeilge le déanaí.

With my colleague, I too support the Bill. I am delighted the Minister, Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív, is present in the House again, as he has a natural love of the Irish language. Within the Law Society of Ireland and the King's Inns there is a further effort to promote the use of the Irish language among practising barristers and solicitors. The Bill is a step in the right direction and a further recognition that the Irish language is an official language within the European Union. It is another reason those who love and promote the Irish language should vote "Yes" in the Lisbon treaty referendum.

When I was in college, I travelled to London every year to work on the building sites with men from Connemara, County Kerry and throughout Ireland to make some money. It was hard work but it paved the way for another year in college. The venue in Blackhall Place was not used at the time, in 1973 or 1974. When we did our degree course, we had to do a first, second and third law examination before we would be entertained in seeking an apprenticeship but that has changed since, for the better. I was called in to do the Irish examination. My mother — God be good to her — telephoned my brother and I had to return some time in the month of July to sit the examination. The venue in Blackhall Place was not used at the time. It was probably in Earlsfort Terrace.

I was reasonably fluent in Irish when I had done my leaving certificate, having attended Coláiste an Chroí Naofa, Carraig na bhFear. For my sins my Irish has got rusty, but I was involved at the time with Conradh na Gaeilge, with the headquarters in Harcourt Street. I arrived to do the examination for which I had done no preparation. I recall that the flight from Gatwick Airport to Dublin was £9. When I arrived to do the examination, in front of me were two black Africans, without, God bless them, a notion of the Irish language. Whatever chance I had, from the Sheepshead peninsula, these boys from the Cape of Good Hope, or wherever, had a good deal less, I surmised. I believe it was a written and an oral examination, and I was reasonably flaithiúil with the language then. After about five minutes, the examiner, presumably from the Gaeltacht area of west Cork, either from Coolea or Ballingeary, which was quite close to me, showed me the door on the basis that I had more Irish than he had, which was probably true at the time. Afterwards I was wondering how the other two had got on. That was more than 30 years ago.

The thrust of this whole debate is to raise the bar as far as the Irish language is concerned within the Law Society's school, Blackhall Place, and also in King's Inns. I am delighted that within the last two or three years it was decided that the Blackhall Place course can now be done in Cork. My son will be starting his apprenticeship, hopefully, within the next three months, and he will be able to fulfil the first and advanced courses of Blackhall Place in Cork. That is a major saving for people from rural Ireland and perhaps if it succeeds in Cork it could be replicated in Galway, to support the people in the west of Ireland, and so on.

AT NUI Cork, there is a course for the BCL degree as Gaeilge. I was fortunate enough to chair the Joint Committee on the Constitution in the five-year period until 2002. Prior to that, when it was chaired by Deputy Brian Lenihan, we visited NUI Cork. One of the reports of the committee had been published as Gaeilge and we presented it to some of the students we met. Some 23 students at the time were studying law and they were all studying Irish. I presume it could be done with French, German and other languages too. Nonetheless, it was great that they had the option of doing the BCL degree while at the same time furthering their knowledge of the Irish language. It was a wonderful development.

I have one question for the Minister, and perhaps he might not be able to answer it. I have no doubt, as my colleague, Senator Regan has indicated, that there is a growing number of practitioners both within the Law Society and at the Bar, who have a great love for Irish, and would wish to expand and extend it — using it in court work and in dealing with people generally. It must be the case in places such as the Dingle peninsula, Connemara and other parts, that people who have to attend court may want to defend themselves or be defended through Irish. This Bill gives enormous encouragement to such people. As somebody noted earlier, many people abandon the Irish language once they have taken the leaving certificate, which is a shame and a pity. I sometimes feel ashamed of that myself. Here we have an opportunity in that a platform is being given to the Irish. It is of critical importance, too, that there will be an official assessment and that the law lecturers, professors, etc., will be tested on their ability to deal with legal complexities and niceties through the Irish language. A register of such people is to be kept and it is not to be a hit and miss affair.

The other point I wanted to put to the Minister was whether sufficient members of the Judiciary can deal with cases through Irish, where somebody wants to exercise his or her constitutional right to be defended, or use the Irish language in advocacy through the courts. That is importance, since it would be a fatuous exercise, for instance if, say, only 15% of senior and junior counsel and also solicitors, were prepared to reach the necessary standard to use the language in the courtroom and advise clients in Irish. In the event, there might be a problem if sufficient judges, in the District Court, Circuit Court, High Court and Supreme Court did not have a facility in Irish at the required level. I am not accusing anyone, because I realise that there is an onus on High Court, and perhaps Supreme Court judges to have a great understanding of the Irish language.

This Bill is a step in the right direction and I am happy to support it. It is wonderful to see the Irish language getting a boost. I am pleased the new Taoiseach, Deputy Brian Cowen, has shown such great respect for the Irish language, as exemplified in his speech at Arbour Hill, on the day he was appointed Taoiseach and even on the day he was made leader of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party, when he went back to Offaly. I believe it is an enormous fillip for the Irish language that the Taoiseach is taking a hands-on approach. He is giving a big boost to the language, which must have a knock-on effect.

I am also pleased to welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Jimmy Devins, to the Chamber, and wish him every success with his new brief and his transfer within the Department of Health and Children. This is a promotion within the ministerial ranks and I wish him luck.

I fully support the Bill and I hope it will get a speedy passage through the House.