Alex White (Labour)

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 8, subsection (3)(b), line 6, after "with" to insert the following:

", or attended a course of instruction or sat an examination for the purposes of seeking to comply with,".

Ba mhaith liom fáilte a ghabháil leis an Aire arís as ucht bheith anseo inniu. Bhí díospóireacht suimiúil againn ar an mBille seo níos luaithe.

I have tabled a number of amendments. Amendment No. 1 deals with students already in the pipeline. I appreciate the Minister has tabled an amendment but we might compare the two to see the best way forward. I am concerned about a situation where a person is in the pipeline and sits the Irish examination but where the Bill becomes law in the meantime. If a person passes the examination and is notified of the result, technically, he or she has not complied with section 3 of the 1929 Act prior to the passing of this Bill. Alternatively, a person who attends the Irish course in 2008-09 and who fails the examination, under section 1(3)(b), he or she is required to attend Irish lectures a second time because he or she has not passed the examination even though there will now be no examination. The amendment is really to deal with people in the pipeline. The Minister has tabled amendments but he might address this issue for us.