David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

First, I compliment the Minister on her intellectual agility. She says the Irish language is of critical importance. It is of such importance it is not mentioned once in the Bill. That is very important, indeed. In fact, I think I will have to sit down at the extraordinary impact of the importance of the Irish language which is not referred to at all in the Bill. Not once. The Minister of State drags in all kinds of secondary legislation to support the implication that Irish is here, there and everywhere else. It is nowhere in the Bill and what we are speaking to is the Bill. We are not speaking about communities on the Aran Islands or those who think Údarás na Gaeltachta is a wonderful organisation. We are talking about the Irish language but this is something the Minister of State has significantly failed to do, which shows the critical importance of Irish. It is a charade. It is a complete and utter nonsense. Why do we not take down the green flag from the masthead if we are not prepared to accept that Irish is the first official language of the State?