Rónán Mullen (Independent)

One can tape it because one does not get to see too many such occasions. One can at least watch the few successful ones again.

I have met many people, particularly older people, although it is unfair to single out any one category, who find TG4 a very refreshing source of alternative programming. However, that in no way takes from the validity of what Senator O'Reilly has proposed, namely, the giving of a guarantee that there will be a minimum number of high quality programmes trí mheán na Gaeilge. Tá a fhios ag an saol gur theip ar an gcóras oideachais thar na blianta sa chaoi inar múineadh an Ghaeilge. Tá na mílte daoine sa tír a bhfuil gráin acu ar an Ghaeilge, faraoir. Má iarrtar orthu cén fáth nach maith leo an teanga, deir siad go raibh múinteoir uafásach acu. Muna raibh an múinteoir lochtach, chuir an chaoi inar múineadh an Ghaeilge i gcoinne na teanga iad. Is mór an trua é sin. Nuair a bhí mé ar scoil sna 1980í, ba léir an difríocht idir mhúineadh na Fraincise, nó múineadh teangacha eile na hEorpa, agus muineadh na Gaeilge. Bhí múinteoirí iontacha agam, ach bhí an curaclam Gaeilge uafásach. Bhí sé bunaithe ar an litríocht amháin. Ní raibh an litríocht sin dírithe ar ghnáth-taithí na mic léinn a bhí ar scoil ag an am. Tá an-dul chun cinn déanta ó shin, ní hamháin maidir leis an gcuraclam ach maidir leis na gaelscoileanna freisin.

Tá cursaí craolacháin rí-thábhachtach má táimid chun ár dteanga mionlach — an phríomh theanga oifigiúil — a chothú. Broadcasting services are a transmitter of culture and messages about many things. If we are serious about promoting the Irish language, the one area in which we should do so is in broadcasting because such services reach many people. Even where the school system might let them down, broadcasting services can set a standard. I am sure others have mentioned Des Bishop's excellent intervention in the debate about the Irish language and the way it is taught and learned.

Amendments I have tabled express my serious concern about the commercial exploitation of children and people generally, particularly through unscrupulous advertising and, on occasion, certain programming. As has often been said, the test of a civilised society is how it treats its most vulnerable members — the elderly and children — how it protects children from commercial exploitation and ensure the messages they receive about themselves and each other are positive or oriented towards the dignity of the human person. I commend the Minister for expressing his concerns with regard to preventing inappropriate advertising of junk food products. I go further in one of my amendments in which I suggest there should be a watershed — 9 p.m. — before which the advertising of alcohol should not be permitted. That is also part of the protection of children from commercial exploitation and unscrupulous and damaging advertising.

I refer to religious programming. When I was in America a couple of weeks ago, I was struck by how it had got the balance wrong in the way religion was talked about and interacted with public life. It is such a pity that is the case because the clear separation of church and state established by its founding fathers was not only about preventing the state from interfering in religious rights but also about protecting the rights of religious believers. If one looks at the current and previous election cycles, on the one side certain individuals advocate political values on the basis that God is supposedly on their side, while on the other, there is an unhealthy reaction when politicians who are unscrupulous about the moral and social values associated with religion nonetheless feel the need to promote their Christian credentials and distribute leaflets in which they describe themselves as Christian leaders and so on. That is not a healthy articulation of religious beliefs in the public square.

We have the opportunity to set a standard because the Constitution, although amended, has always got the balance right. The preamble to it acknowledges that for the majority, deeper religious values are significant in understanding the meaning of life and the direction a civilised society should take. However, at the same time, it creates space for individual conscience, particularly in the amendments adopted in the early 1970s which establish clearly that people are free to pursue their own personal search about the meaning and purpose of life. The Constitution still honours religion. It must do so because it is essential to the human experience to search for meaning. What the great religions of the world do is offer an explanation and an analysis of what life is all about. A few years ago I was struck by what the Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, a Jesuit, said when retiring. He said the big chasm in the world — as I am paraphrasing what he said in Italian, I hope Members will be tolerant — was not between those who did and did not believe but between those who were and were not thinking. That was a mouthful because he was emphasising the need for curiosity about life and its meaning.

It must be acknowledged that during the years church leaders in Ireland have perhaps been too successful as lobbyists. However, we have seen a backlash which has resulted in some in our society, including sometimes at a very high level of policy-making or opinion formation, being afraid to even engage in moral discourse. That is regrettable because in the Christian experience, in particular, there is huge respect not only for faith but also for reason; in other words, what authentic religion is doing and what should be facilitated by broadcasters is encouraging curiosity about how, in the words of the ancient Greeks, the good life is to be lived.

I freely acknowledge the faults, failings and scandals of the officer class and ordinary foot soldiers like myself of the great religions. What religion — properly understood and practised — does is that it seeks to bring out the best in people on the basis that there is a purpose to life. That is what all the great religions have in common. Therefore, we should not confine religion to the private square.

We should not allow ourselves to think there is no place for religious discourse in broadcasting. Religion and philosophy are the stuff of life. We need to ensure our broadcaster respects them. I do not think that is the case at the moment. If one compares the amount of time RTE devotes to arts programming to the amount of time it devotes to theological and philosophical inquiry, one will fairly conclude that there is a certain reluctance on the part of RTE to facilitate large-scale religious discourse. I listened to an excellent review of Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" on an arts programme a few years ago. Although I studied that play in English and in French as an undergraduate, I am none the wiser.