Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire Stáit. Mar is eol do mo chomhleacaithe, tá seachtain na Gaeilge ar siúl anois agus caithfidh mé cupla abairt a rá faoin bhféile. Tá féile sheachtain na Gaeilge ar siúl le blianta beaga anuas. Is í an chéiliúradh is mó d'ár dteanga agus d'ár gcultúr dúchais a ritear in Éireann gach bliain. Cuireann eagraíochtaí, comhairlí áitiúla, scoileanna, leabharlanna agus eagrais ceoil, spóirt agus cultúrtha imeachtaí ar fáil ar fud na tíre le linn seachtain na Gaeilge. The Seachtain na Gaeilge festival has built up incredible momentum in recent years, becoming the largest celebration of native language and culture held in Ireland each year. It is appropriate to congratulate all involved in organising events throughout the country.

I refer to an aspect of the debate that is often neglected, which is the status of the language in Northern Ireland. The 2001 census in the North showed that 10.4% of the people had some knowledge of Irish. The language received a degree of formal recognition in Northern Ireland from the UK Government under the Good Friday Agreement and in 2001 through its ratification in respect of the language of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The British Government has promised to create legislation encouraging the use of the language as part of the 2006 St. Andrews Agreement. As part of the new political landscape in Northern Ireland, the Irish language could become a truly cross-community and cross-Border means of bringing people together. I encourage the Minister of State to seek further ways to develop cross-Border projects where the language is prioritised and to put pressure on the UK Government to increase funding for Irish language education in the school system in the North to honour commitments given.

We are accustomed to a great deal of doom and gloom regarding the future of the language. However, there are a few causes for optimism. TG4 has offered Irish-speaking young people a forum for youth culture as Gaeilge through rock and pop and country music shows, travel shows, dating games and even an award winning soap opera. In this respect, the station has been a great success. The Government can be justifiably proud of its record in promoting the use of the official language.

I draw attention to an article in yesterday's edition of The Irish Times in which an Coimisinéir Teanga, Seán Ó Cuirreáin, welcomed the publication of a book reviewing case law entitled Súil ar an Dlí (An Eye on the Law)The book will be a resource for those who want to practise law through Irish. He also went to say:

[I]f you leave the language out of any domain, it reduces the chances of survival. It has to be facilitated in all areas of life, and the courts are very important in that respect.

As a broadcaster, I have always tried to use cúpla focal as Gaeilge ar na cláracha a bhí mé presenting. All of us have come through the education system and I plead with broadcasters generally to use cúpla focal Gaeilge in their broadcasts. It would not be an imposition on them mentally or otherwise. They have it within them. If we could do that, it would make it more comfortable for the general population to perhaps use cúpla focal Gaeilge every day. Ultimately, we are looking at a bilingual population in the short to medium term.