Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

Aontaím le mórán den méid a bhí le rá ag na Seanadóirí ar an taobh eile den Teach. Tá dualgas orainn iarracht a dhéanamh an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn. Thaispeáin an Taoiseach an-ghrá don Ghaeilge le déanaí. Baineann sé usáid as an teanga gach uair a bhíonn sé ag caint go poiblí. Tá sé oiriúnach dúinn iarracht a dhéanamh cabhrú leis.

I support in large measure the comments of Opposition Senators about the promotion of the Irish language through our broadcasting services. TG4 has made a tremendous contribution in that regard. I am not as impressed by those who are flúirseach sa Ghaeilge as I am by those whose Irish is rusty but use the language anyway, perhaps in a bilingual context. I regretted the demise of Liam Ó Murchú's "Trom agus Éadrom", which did tremendously well. I wonder whether a programme of that nature could be broadcast on Friday evenings instead of "The Late Late Show", which has probably overrun its time. It does not have the vibrancy it had in the past. It tends to get involved in controversial issues to keep its ratings up.

Broadcasting bilingual programme at peak viewing times would go an enormous way towards promoting the language. I am not sure I would necessarily support that this be mandatory. I believe we should be encouraging other television channels to produce bilingual programmes. Anything the Minister can do by way of incorporating this into the Bill would be good.

I concur also with Senator Mullen in respect of the religious content of programmes. We are a society afflicted with godlessness. Human beings are, in essence, spiritual beings seeking the meaning of life and so on. We hear much about the high rate of suicide in our society. There are, of course, a myriad of reasons for this, including understanding the meaning of life.

Our broadcast media in particular can be an important conduit in injecting a balance of views across society so that we are not constantly bombarded with materialism which is an essential part of broadcasting not alone in terms of advertising but in terms of lobbying. The Bill, which is good, provides us with opportunities to address issues that are essential to the well-being of society.