Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I will revert briefly to the Minister's response to amendment No. 13 concerning subtitling. I take his remarks on board and I am encouraged by his indication of the additional quantity of programmes that will be made available under the subtitling service. As I did on Second Stage, I want to concentrate on the quality of much of that subtitling. Without labouring the point, I ask the Minister to try to follow either RTE's "Six One News" or the "Nine O'Clock News" by way of subtitling alone. He certainly will not find the experience satisfactory. Sadly, tens of thousands of people throughout the country are experiencing that difficulty because of the inadequate quality of subtitling in live television broadcasts. I appreciate that some technological issues may have to be addressed and I am sure financial costs also are involved. We owe it to all those people whose hearing is less than it should be, however, to invest significantly in subtitling and to demand the highest possible standards. The Minister should ask the broadcasting authority to concentrate on the quality of subtitling as much as the quantity. While the quantity is sufficient, the quality is not as good as it should be.

I support what Senator O'Reilly said concerning his amendment aimed at establishing a quota for Irish language programming. I acknowledge that a sea-change was brought about as a result of the introduction of TG4. It is, if I recall correctly, approximately 15 years since the former Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Michael D. Higgins, ploughed a lone furrow for some time as he sought to impress on his Cabinet colleagues and the Oireachtas as a whole the need to provide funding to establish TG4. While his endeavours were viewed by many as aspirational and perhaps a little removed from reality, the station has proved a resounding success and long may that continue. Senator O'Reilly's amendment is aspirational and would be useful in RTE and TV3. I ask the Minister to respond positively.

A major debate is under way on how best to maintain and develop the Irish language. For example, we have had political rows about our approach to teaching Irish at second level. The greater people's exposure to Irish, the better it will be for our language, culture and heritage. The Minister will recall the continuity announcements one used to hear on RTE in advance of every programme. Introducing almost every second programme with a phrase or two of Irish may not have transformed the use of the language but it at least marked an effort to use Irish on television on an ongoing basis. This practice has since ceased.

Senator O'Reilly's amendment is worthy of consideration as it would take a small step towards protecting and developing the language by making it a stronger feature of everyday culture. Those who may not have ever spoken a sentence in Irish would at least learn and use a word or two of the language. It will take a long time to change our culture to the extent that Irish is used frequently by the majority of citizens. The amendment would be a small and positive step in this direction and I hope the Minister will respond favourably.

While I appreciate the difficulty the Minister faces, we must use legislation to make statements and be aspirational. We have moved a long way from former President de Valera's aspiration that Irish would again become the spoken language of the country. Politicians are not as demanding as they were 60 or 70 years ago. However, if we genuinely want to protect our language and culture, we should take this small positive step in the right direction.