Joe O'Toole (Independent)

The Government amendment No. 76 replaces one of my previous amendments. While I do not intend to speak on each grouped amendment as Members continue to consider the Bill, ba mhaith liom cúpla focal a rá i mBéarla mar gheall ar cúpla ceann acu. Amendment No. 14 is important and the Minister should make a gesture in this regard. All I seek is that RTE's website should be bilingual, which simply means it would include two languages. It does not mean that every single word contained therein must be translated into Irish. I ndáiríre, bíonn deacrachtaí ag muintir na Gaeltachta faoi láthair nuair atá siad ag déanamh a gcuid oibre. Má tá múinteoir scoile i gceartlár na Gaeltachta ag iarraidh ar a rang féachaint ar website RTE chun teacht ar any piece of information, ba mhaith an rud é go mbeadh an Ghaeilge ann chomh maith. An deacracht atá ann i gconaí ó thaobh múineadh na Gaeilge sna Gaeltachtaí, ó thaobh maireachtáil trí Ghaeilge sna Gaeltachtaí agus ó thaobh lárnacht na Gaeltachtaí gan Gaeilge a bheith acu, is that every time one must do something, one must find it in English.

Of all Members, I take a highly practical view on Irish language policy and in general, I receive the blunt end of things from Irish language groups, who consider me to be namhaid éigin den teanga or, as has been stated publically to me many times, treasonous towards the language. Stories are carried regularly in Irish language newspapers that I am no friend to the language. I take a practical view and the Minister should do likewise. It is not unreasonable for people in Gaeltacht areas to request that the RTE website should carry a significant amount of Irish. I would like to hear an argument against this proposal that reflects the views the Minister holds towards Gaeilge and the Gaeltacht. Cén fáth nach bhfuil Gaeilge ar fáil dóibh? Níl mé ag rá go gcaithfidh gach focal ar an website sin a bheith i nGaeilge. Ní hé sin atá i gceist agam. Cén fáth nach mbeadh rudaí i nGaeilge ann? Cén fáth nach bhfuil duine ann chun a dhéanamh cinnte de go bhfuil rudaí curtha ar fáil i nGaeilge? When using Google and having entered a website in French that I do not understand, I simply can choose the translation option and change it over. I do not understand the reason one cannot ensure such a facility is used to its greatest extent because entire sections of the Bill constitute a recognition go bhfuil muintir Gaeltachtaí na tíre seo mar saoránaigh na tíre seo. Tá ceartanna ar leith acu. Tá freagracht orainn an Ghaeilge a chur a fáil dóibh agus a gcultúr féin a chur ar fáil dóibh. Caithfimid a bheith cinnte go bhfuil go leor sa reachtaíocht seo do mhuintir na Gaeltachta agus do Gaeilgeoirí. However, I refer to muintir na Gaeltachta in particular.

Members have a job to do in this regard and I do not seek the expenditure of significant sums of money. I visited a Gaeltacht school last Monday morning and spoke to people there. Déantar gach cuid oibre as Gaeilge sa scoil sin. All the speeches were made trí Ghaeilge. There was an offical opening of the school. Bhí gach rud déanta trí Ghaeilge. However, the school continues to struggle to teach the Irish language because half of the children attending it have satellite television at home, as they should. They have access to BBC, ITV and the other channels. This is as it should be and I am not one of those zealots who believes such programmes should not be allowed into the Gaeltacht. People there should enjoy a full quality of life. However, there can be problems muna bhfuil seans acu an Ghaeilge a bheith acu. TG4 was a great gift to them. I sat on this seat in the Chamber approximately 15 years ago making the case for an Irish language television station and it was ridiculed by many people who stated it could never be viable, there was no case for it, etc. It has been a massive success. At that time, support for the idea of investing £5 million into the establishment of what was being loosely called Teilifís na Gaeltachta, came from me and a young Senator called Éamon Ó Cuív. Subsequently, this evolved into what nowadays is called TG4.

There is creativity in the Gaeltacht. The attitude on the east coast, when discussing or considering the Gaeltachtaí, is almost patronising. People almost look down on them. However, people there are as bright as anywhere else in Ireland. Moreover, they offer a new perspective on matters because they bring a bilingual or bipolar culture. Tá siad ag féachaint ar gnéithe eile de rudaí. Tá treoir agus díríu eile acu. Tá sé mar an gcéanna leis an diríu a bheith acu ar an mBéarla. They have both an English and an Irish approach to matters. They possess an Irish language culture based in the Gaeltacht and can bring it to bear on what they do. It is highly disappointing for such people and for me that simple proposals on issues such as making an Irish language website available to them are refused. These are not difficult matters.

In addition, some of my other amendments were tabled to recognise the responsibility for the Irish language. The organisation is not simply there to facilitate, as its purpose also is to stimulate and promote. As such matters are not easily measurable or quantifiable, why do they pose difficulties to the Minister? I refer to amendment No. 18, in which I suggest that instead of facilitating Gaelic culture, the phrase "stimulate and promote" should be used. Does the Minister object to this? He made an impassioned contribution in the House on Committee Stage about the proposed film channel, which impressed all Members.

I thought of him at the weekend when looking at the clár or timetable for the Hay-on-Wye festival, which finished two weeks ago, one section of which was devoted to the showing of community film. It was along the lines mentioned by the Minister. The festival, which is based in Wales, ensured that without being overwhelmed, space was given for the development of Welsh culture. Consequently, the festival was not simply facilitating Welsh culture; it was promoting and stimulating it. Cén fáth nach bhfuil an rud céanna ar fáil againn anseo? Cén fáth nach bhfuilimid sásta tacaíocht le sin? Cén fáth a bhfuil deacracht ag an Aire sa mhéid seo? Cén fáth nach bhfuil sé sásta tacaíocht leis an méid atá á mholadh agam i leasú Uimh. 18?

In deference to the House, as I have raised many of these issues on Committee Stage, I will not go through them again. It would be unfair to subject Members to my views in this regard again. I recognise and welcome the small amount of progress that has been made, particularly in respect of the concession made in amendment No. 76, which in many ways was one of the most important issues to me. I refer to recognising the Gaeltacht areas and the people of the Gaeltachtaí. However, the other amendments to which I refer are not major issues. It would not be difficult to state the station would in some way promote and stimulate Irish language and culture. Ní cheart go mbeadh deacracht ag an Aire sa mhéid seo. Ba chóir dúinn é a chur chun cinn. Tá freagracht orainn an rud seo a chur chun cinn. Ba mhaith an rud é dá mbeadh tuiscint ag muintir na Gaeltachta, agus ag Gaeilgeoirí eile na tíre, go bhfuilimid ann dóibh chomh maith. That is without listening to every off-the-wall suggestion to translate every word we speak into the Irish language. We are not going down that road because we can do something simple.

Later on today we will be dealing with the Legal Practitioners (Irish Language) Bill 2007. There was always an optional Irish language course to be pursued by people who were studying to be barristers. It worked very well, and even people with no Gaeilge learned words like "dúnmharú", which was welcome. At some stage someone decided that it would be used differently, and the exam was made almost impossible to pass. The State is now enacting a Bill stating that it is no longer a requirement to pass the Irish exam, just an option. When things are pushed too far, the State is forced to concede. I am not asking that anything be done that will cause a major administrative problem, but it does require political will. The cost base is tiny, but the strategic importance to people who are promoting the policy of the Irish language is very important.

Officials from different Departments normally talk to each other. What did officials from the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs think of my amendments? Did they offer any view to the Minister present? Surely it is in line with stated Government policy. Níl aon rud á mholadh agamsa anseo nach bhfuil ráite ag an Taoiseach mar gheall ar an Gaeilge ó toghadh sa jab nua é. He has made it clear he is supportive of the Irish language. I am trying to sidestep people who would push Irish down our throats and believe in compulsion. I am trying to give the stage to people who are reasonable and to recognise that people in the Gaeltacht feel isolated, cut off, and do not feel represented and reflected in much of what we do. There is a good reason for these policies, because it can be so expensive to implement them. Ach sa chás seo, sa mhéid atá á rá agam, níl sé ró-dhaor na rudaí atá ann a chur ar fáil. An rud atá ag teastáil anseo ná go mbeadh toil ag an Aire é sin a dhéanamh, agus níl níos mó ná sin ag teastáil. It would make a great difference to Gaeltacht people, Gaeilgeoirí, Irish teachers agus a lán daoine eile. Ba chóir go mbeadh sé sin ar fáil dóibh.

D'fhéadfainn bheith ag caint ar seo ar feadh an lae. Tá a lán ráite agam, b'fheidir an iomarca. Fáiltím roimh an dul chun chinn beag ach tábhachtach atá déanta againn i leasú Uimh. 76 ach is mór an trua nach bfhuil an tAire in ann nó sásta aon dul chun chinn a dhéanamh leis na leasaithe eile. I did not go through them all. It is the same issue with all of them, that is, to try to make something happen.