Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I too believe Amnesty International has crossed the line on the issue of abortion. I recall that when it first became a proactive advocate for abortion, I withheld my contributions. My reason for that was clear. I believe human rights are an entitlement of every person, but once it decided to exclude some people, I believe Amnesty International made a mistake.

Ar ábhar eile ar fad, mar is eol don Teach, tá tuarascáil amuigh i láthair na huaire maidir le stádas na Gaeltachta agus cad atá i ndán don Ghaeltacht amach anseo. Más fíor í an tuarascáil seo, is drochscéal é don Ghaeilge agus don Ghaeltacht. D'fhéachamar i gcónaí ar an nGaeltacht mar tobar na Gaeilge, ach deirtear anois go bhfuil seans ann nach mairfidh an Ghaeltacht níos mó ná 15 bliain. Tá sé sin dochreidte. If we were told that the Rock of Cashel would collapse within 15 years, there would be an outcry. Every agency in the State would be marshalled and every effort made to ensure that would not happen. We are now told in the latest report that there may be no more than 15 years left for the Gaeltacht.

This is frightening when we consider the importance of the Gaeltacht. First, it is important in the context of the richness of its heritage. Our young people were able to visit the Gaeltacht to better their command of the language and the Gaeltacht was also the repository of the literature relating to the language. I am not being an alarmist when I say I believe this is an emergency on our doorstep. I ask the Leader to arrange for the appropriate Minister to come to the House as soon as possible to discuss this. I am not talking about papers, reports or committees, but about an emergency, if we believe - the report is specific on this - that the Gaeltacht will no longer exist in another 15 years. Nobody in this House or country would want to see that happen. Unless we do something radical, imaginative and comprehensive urgently, history will not be kind to any of us if we allow this to happen.