Mr. Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh:

Bhí sé an-shuimiúil a bheith ag éisteacht leis na Seanadóirí. Tuigim ó bheith ag éisteacht leo go bhfuil sé in aigne acu anois rud éigin gníomhach a dhéanamh i leith na Gaeilge agus i leith gnéithe eile de chultúr na hÉireann i rith na bliana atá romhainn. Is maith an rud, ar shlí, gur Bliain na Gaeilge í in áit Sheachtain na Gaeilge. D'fhéadfaí rud a chur ar siúl ar feadh bliana ach ní fhéadfaí mórán a dhéanamh i seachtain ach an spiorad a chothú.

Bhí rudaí suimiúla le rá. Labhródh faoi éigeantas, compulsion. Bhí sé sin ann ó, b'fhéidir, na 1940í agus na 1950í. Níl sé ann a thuilleadh. Nuair a théitear isteach anois go dtí na bunscoileanna, if one goes into primary schools now, the múinteoir is not Ms or Mrs. so-an-so agus ní hé an fear an tUasal, he or she is Múinteoir Máire nó Múinteoir ainm éigin eile. The students just take the teacher's name as if he or she was one of themselves. It is a group thing. Mar a dúirt peileadóir ó Chiarraí, Mick O'Connell, liom uair amháin, nuair a chuir duine ceist air cé a bhí ar a mharcáil, nó who was marking him, on a given day, dúirt sé nach raibh éinne riamh ar a mharcáil ach go raibh sé ag imirt leo. He said that he did not play against the others, he played with them. Tá an rud sin sna scoileanna anois. Tá na daltaí agus na múinteoirí le chéile. It is not that one has all the power. Tá an éigeantas imithe and that is a great thing for Irish. People who learned Irish in school in the last 20 or 30 years have a different experience completely. The compulsion was there in a time when everything was certain agus gach rud. It did a lot of damage. It turned people who did not have the ability to learn Irish quickly against it. That was a pity. Is dóigh liom go bhfuil sé sin thart.

Luaigh mé ré nua. We are into new times now and there is an opportunity. It is okay to talk about things and to have strategies and everything, but one must be able to say five years later that strategy worked. Caithfear gníomh a dhéanamh. That is what I like about all the people connected with that Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language. Not alone did they point needs out but they actually went to do different things where they saw such needs and brought other people in. From what I heard here from the Seanadóirí I am very hopeful that they will do their part. Tá a lán daoine anseo a bhfuil Gaeilge acu. If they can have any influence on it and if the people are available I would love it if, when elections come around, as well as having debates in RTÉ and other stations, there were also some as Gaeilge ar TG4 - Teilifís na Gaeilge nuair a bunaíodh é.

Ba é ár nUachtarán, Michael D. Higgins, who launched Teilifís na Gaeilge, as it was called, way back in 1996. Is cuimhin liom go maith an oíche sin agus ba chóir creidiúint a thabhairt dó. Dúirt sé go raibh sé an tAire - that he was the Minister - but he also said that only for the people that went before him who got the legislation through and made the money available, ní bheadh sé ansin agus ní bheadh Teilifís na Gaeilge ann. Dúirt sé go gcaithfear féachaint amach ar an rud go léir. Cuireann rudaí mar sin áthas orm mar ní mhaith liom rudaí caolaigeantach. Cosúil leis na scoileanna, if the Irish club develops bheadh na Teachtaí Dála, the Senators and others meeting more often and, unknown to themselves, in a while they will be speaking as Gaeilge when the opportunity is there. Déanaim comhghairdeas le na Seanadóirí.

There was a move a few years ago to get rid of Seanad Éireann. I do not know what the purpose of that was. It would be a sad day. Going way back to an old Irish poem: ná tabhair do bhreith ar an gcéad scéal go mbeiridh an taobh eile ort - do not pass judgment on a story you hear until you hear the other story. You are in a better place then. A system that allows for two levels, two views, is a better way to form positive opinions. Is dóigh liom go bhfuil mo dhóthain ráite agam. Táim dóchasach that the future is good. On some aspects like the music and the dance, people are dancing Irish dances all over the world - Australia, America, and so on. With the new opening up of China there will be Chinese people coming here to the Oireachtas in a few years' time. Beidh siad ann. Gabhaim míle buíochas leis na Seanadóirí. Tá áthas orm go bhfuair mé cuireadh agus go raibh fáilte romham ar son na Gaeilge.