Déirdre de Búrca (Green Party)

Tá brón orm freisin nach mbeidh mé in ann an Bille seo a phlé trí Ghaeilge. Ba mhaith liom go mbeadh mo chuid Gaeilge maith go leor chun é sin a dhéanamh ach níl sé. Mar sin de, caithfidh mé é a phlé as Béarla. Unfortunately I do not feel my Irish is sufficiently proficient to discuss this Bill. However, Des Bishop visited the Houses of the Oireachtas today and showed us all how one can improve one's level of Irish through total immersion. As a non-Irish person, he demonstrated the level of fluency that can be achieved. It is an example to us all and certainly one I hope to follow. Perhaps in the future, I will be in a position to discuss Bills such as the one before us through Irish.

We are all aware that Irish became an official language of the European Union on 1 January 2007. It is likely that people will avail of the facility to seek through Irish documents that emanate from the various EU institutions. It would be a sad state of affairs if the service available from the EU institutions were superior to that of our own legal system. This Bill will ensure the better use of the Irish language by legal practitioners and also the adequate provision of legal services through Irish.

The Bill will abolish the compulsory Irish language requirement for solicitors and barristers in training. It was required for barristers under the Legal Practitioners (Qualification) Act 1929, under which no one could be admitted to practise at the Bar without satisfying the Chief Justice that he or she had competent knowledge of Irish, which was defined as the ability to receive instructions and follow proceedings through Irish. This Bill, while removing the compulsory requirement, fulfils the Government's commitment to taking all reasonable steps to ensure an adequate number of barristers at law are able to practice law through Irish. The Bill provides that King's Inns, which provides training for barristers, will hold a course on Irish legal terminology and the understanding of legal texts in the Irish language for all students undertaking the barrister-at-law degree course. This will have the aim of enabling practitioners to identify the nature of the service being sought and, where appropriate, to facilitate a referral to a practitioner competent to provide a service through Irish.

The Bill provides that those studying for the barrister-at-law degree who have at the date of the repeal of the Legal Practitioners (Qualification) Act 1929 complied with the terms of section 3 of that Act shall be deemed to have attended the course on legal terminology. It also provides that the Council of King's Inns will ensure an advanced course on the practice of law through Irish will be included as an optional subject in the barrister-at-law course. In effect, we are replacing the old system with a system that will recognise two tiers of qualifications in the Irish language. We must recognise that many people now training as barristers and solicitors do not have a basic grounding in Irish and that this is putting an unacceptable onus on them to acquire apparent fluency in the language, which they do not have in reality, to be able to practice.

Conradh na Gaeilge has drawn attention to the fact that there is no proposed examination on completion of the course in legal terminology, which will be mandatory for all trainee barristers. It has made submissions to the effect that if there is no examination, it will command neither respect nor attention by comparison with those subjects that will require study and which it will be necessary to pass. We need to consider this. I do not know whether the Minister has a particular response but it is true that if there is no assessment of competency in respect of legal terminology in Irish, the subject may command no respect. Students may then attempt to circumvent the requirement to attend the course. What is the Minister's view on this?

The position on solicitors is similar to that on barristers. Prior to the enactment of the Solicitors Act 1954, students were required to take two examinations in Irish, one at the apprentice stage and the second at qualification stage, to become a solicitor. The examinations consisted of written tests on prescribed texts that had nothing to do with the law and which were not conducted by the Law Society. We want to end such practices whereby students are taking courses that have little bearing on the kind of competency in Irish they are encouraged to acquire, be it basic or more advanced. The changes brought about by this Bill will require the Law Society to have regard to Government policy on bilingualism and take all reasonable steps to ensure an adequate number of solicitors are able to practise the law through the Irish language. The Law Society is required to hold a course on Irish legal terminology and the understanding of legal texts in the Irish language and, where appropriate, to facilitate referrals to practitioners competent to provide a service through Irish. The society is also required to ensure an advanced course on the practice of law through the Irish language will be included as an optional subject for those undertaking the professional practice course. This is all very reasonable and sensible and is to be welcomed.

The Green Party supports the Bill. However, Conradh na Gaeilge is concerned that some District Court and Circuit Court judges in Gaeltachtaí are not competent in the Irish language while others who are competent in the Irish language are in districts and circuits outside the Gaeltachtaí.

The organisations have pointed out that Gaeltacht cases are conducted at locations in the Gaeltacht or through English in the Gaeltacht itself, except in south Connemara. They believe this does not accord with Government policy on the fostering of Irish as the community language in the Gaeltacht. They have proposed that the Gaeltacht should be considered as an administrative unit, administered through Irish by people interested in so doing. This should apply to those judges who sit in courts on cases that relate to the Gaeltacht or which arise from Gaeltacht areas. I seek the Minister's response in this regard. Has he given consideration to this issue, which has been raised by the aforementioned organisations? Does he consider that this Bill could attempt to rectify this issue?