Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would probably have been able to put a speech together in Irish if more time had been available to me. I simply did not have the time this week. I was disappointed to learn I could not have it translated for me. I ask the Minister of State to do something about the matter. I am embarrassed to have to speak in English about the Irish language. I am afraid that if I tried to speak in Irish, I would come out with Italian, French or German. I am an honours graduate who spoke very good Irish in school and spent a great deal of time in the Gaeltacht. I have spent a great deal of time in Europe in more recent years. Whenever I try to speak Irish, I am inclined to come out with Italian because I have a degree in that language. Those are my own problems. I thought I would mention them on the record. Perhaps I should spend a few weeks in the Gaeltacht when time allows to try to improve my Irish. I would be proud to speak Irish.

I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for his work. I welcome this timely discussion on the Straitéis 20 Bliain don Ghaeilge 2010-2030. Seachtain na Gaeilge is a good time to assess where we are at with regard to the strategy. I note with interest that an Irish language programme is being created for gardaí. We have heard about that in recent days. I was also interested to hear the recent comments of the Irish language commissioner, who claims that this country's Irish language policy is in crisis. A report recently commissioned by his office notes a 5% increase in complaints about problems dealing with State services through the medium of Irish. Some 734 new complaints were made in the year covered by the report. The 5% increase I have mentioned equates to an additional 37 complaints by comparison with the previous year. When one considers the relative ease with which communication is conducted and complaints are received nowadays, this is hardly a foundation on which to describe something as a crisis. My office receives approximately 30% more correspondence than it did a year ago. This sort of inflammatory language does nothing to help us to draw up a calm and well thought-out policy in this area.

Much of the report and much of what Mr. Ó Cuirreáin says is borne of a defensiveness that has no place in a debate that is taking place at a time when we are cutting spending across the board. We are attempting to decrease our spending by another ¤8 billion. We are trying to decrease costs while keeping services intact. Beyond this, there is a need to focus on the positive, for example by focusing on the Gaelscoileanna movement, which was discussed in this House during our last debate on the Irish language. Gaelscoileanna are continuing to thrive in Ireland, as evidenced by the increase of 13% in the number of children attending such schools. Across the country, sentiment with regard to the idea of Gaelscoileanna is continuing to rise. We must also look to the Irish language arts, which are continuing to thrive in a challenging environment, as the arts always do.

We must continue to encourage the next generation to embrace the language and to find it a useful conversational tool. I should include my generation in this also. This is a challenge that has eluded us for a number of generations, but the Minister of State has grasped it.

As we know, this 20-year strategy for the Irish language is built on the foundation of the constitutional status of the language and follows on the Government statement on the Irish language published in December 2006. Things have changed utterly since then, yet we are doing everything possible to uphold the strategy and to ensure the Irish language prospers between now and 2030. That statement set out 13 policy objectives to that end. In objective 1, the special status given to the Irish language in the Constitution and in legislation, such as the Official Languages Act 2003, the Education Act 1998, the Planning and Development Act 2000 and the Broadcasting Act 2001, will be upheld. This is being done.

Objective 2 states that the Official Languages Act will be fully implemented. Despite recent breaches, ongoing efforts are being made to fulfil this objective. Objective 3 states that the Irish language community, inside and outside the Gaeltacht, will be encouraged and supported to transmit the Irish language to the next generation as a living household language. As we have seen recently, the Minister has undertaken significant measures in this regard. Objective 4 provides for the Gaeltacht to be given special support as an Irish-speaking area. Objective 5 provides that Irish will be taught as an obligatory subject from primary to leaving certificate level. The curriculum will foster oral and written competence in Irish among students and an understanding of its value to us as a people. This is ongoing.

Objective 6 states that a high standard of all-Irish education will be provided to school students whose parents or guardians so wish. Gaelscoileanna will continue to be supported at primary level and all-Irish provision at post-primary level will be developed to meet demand. Despite challenges on resources, our school building programme continues undiminished, underlining the investment we are undertaking in our future, highlighting that for the Government, education is a priority. We endeavour to uphold this objective.

Objective 7 has proven challenging, given the current circumstances. It states that Irish language preschool education will continue to be supported and third level education through Irish will be further developed. Objective 8 states that the State will continue to support Foras na Gaeilge in the context of the British-Irish Agreement Act 1999. Objective 9 sets out that high quality broadcast services through the medium of Irish will be ensured, particularly through the continuous development of RTE - I note Senator Ó Murchú's comments in this regard - Raidió na Gaeltachta and TG4. Our investment in this area has continued and will continue for the lifetime of the Government. The Minister of State may want to look into this further, particularly with regard to RTE.

Objective 10 states that every support will be given to the European Union in implementing the decision to make Irish a working and official language of the Union from 1 January 2007. This has happened. Objective 11 adds that in order to promote Irish nationally and to preserve and strengthen it in the Gaeltacht, the work being done by the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht and by agencies and bodies under it will be reinforced. This is a vague objective and needs to be tightened up if we are to have any idea of how to measure its success.

Objective 12 relates to the use of the Irish language by An Garda Síochána. I am interested in hearing the Minister of State's comments with regard to the recent revelation indicating An Garda Síochána was found to be among the bodies at fault in this regard. An investigation found that eight out of nine gardaí assigned to servicing Gaoth Dobhair in the Donegal Gaeltacht were unable to carry out their duties through Irish. As a result, an Irish language programme is being created for gardaí in Gaeltacht areas.

While we face challenges in meeting the 13 objectives, the challenging environment must be acknowledged. We must also acknowledge the committed effort of the Minister of State to navigate a difficult terrain in terms of funding. While I believe we are on course to meet many of the 13 objectives, we should look at correcting our course now and at amending some of these objectives to make them more practical.