Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Okay. Má tá cead agam, agus mura miste leis an Aire, labhróidh mé ar na leasuithe go léir in áit iad a ghlacadh go haonarach. Tá súil agam gur féidir leis an Aire labhairt ar na leasuithe ina iomláine fosta agus í ag freagairt. Beginning with amendment No. 14, rather than vague mentions of the Irish language, the specific national aim of restoring the Irish language to use as a spoken language, which is already enshrined in other legislation such as the existing Higher Education Authority Act 1971, should be included as an aim to which State bodies relating to broadcasting and the regulation of the media must have regard. As the Bill is currently worded, instead of a core commitment to the use and promotion of Irish as the national language there is simply a broader duty to have regard to "languages and traditions" of the public. This puts the media's responsibility to Irish on the same footing as any other language. This totally undermines the commitment that comes with its status as first official and national language as a core component of the common heritage of humanity that it is uniquely the duty of Ireland to preserve and promote and the role Irish media must play if the Irish language is to survive and thrive. Worse still, it may even make the coimisiún feel it is duty-bound not to promote Irish above any other languages, which would hamper efforts at language revival. The State must have regard for the diversity of cultural and linguistic traditions and identities across our island and it is right to celebrate them all but this should not negate the specific duty we have to the restoration of Irish as the common heritage of all peoples in Ireland and something that unites people across all traditions and identities. We had that greatly exemplified in the recent address to the House by Ms Linda Ervine. As such, we propose to specify the national aim while also maintaining a reference to the linguistic diversity of island's traditions and identities.

On amendment No. 22, Sinn Féin welcomes the recognition in this section of the Bill of the need for an coimisiún na meán to tackle the dual emergencies of our linguistic crisis and our climate crisis and to support our cultural and national heritage. This ties in with what Michael Cronin has to say in his book Irish and Ecology or An Ghaeilge agus an Éiceolaíocht:

Is í croílár na faidhbe maidir leis an ngéarchéim éiceolaíochta ná go bhfuil muid tar éis dul ar strae, toisc go bhfuil muid dall ar an áit faoi leith le stair, le cumhacht filíochta agus tuisceana. Tugann muid neamhaird ar an dochar leanúnach atá á dhéanamh don áit ag gníomhaíochtaí áirithe daonna. Cuidíonn litríocht na Gaeilge linn chun teacht arís ar an eolas riachtanach seo. Muna bhfuilítear in ann an tírdhreach a léamh, cad a tharlaíonn? Easpa measa ar an áit, scrios éiceolaíochta, droch-phleanáil agus faillí i leith fhorbairt inbhuanaithe an oileáin.

If we are serious about recognising these implications and tackling them head-on then we need to ensure the goals and functions we set in law with this Bill are achievable and implemented beyond simply lip-service commitments. The provisions in law must be capable of being monitored and measured. This is why we are proposing to strengthen the wording from simply saying an coimisiún shall "promote and stimulate the development of" to affirming the coimisiún shall "ensure and increase the development and provision of ... programmes in the Irish language, and ... programmes relating to climate change and environmental sustainability". This way, we can count the number of programmes relating to both, year on year, and see if an coimisiún is doing its job. Where there are gaps to filled, an coimisiún can revise its strategies to address any shortcomings.

This would also empower the Coimisinéir Teanga to investigate failures by the media commission to increase the development and provision of programming in the Irish language and thus allowing for true accountability. We know the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, BAI, did not live up to its commitments to promote Irish as there were no repercussions and no impetus to improve the situation or even monitor the statistics whereby Dr. John Walsh and Dr. Rosemary Day showed, in their 2018 report on the use of Irish on radio, that some stations, including one covering the largest Gaeltacht population in the country, aired not one hour of Irish for the entirety of 2017 despite the BAI being obliged under the Broadcasting Act to have regard to the role of Irish in the Gaeltacht when granting licences.We need a sea change in how our broadcasting regulator approaches the Irish language and environmental issues. This amendment would see the vague commitment to promotion enhanced to a measurable commitment to increase the amount of programming in Irish and programming on climate issues.

Similarly to the previous amendment, amendment No. 23 seeks to draw a link between protecting our natural environment and promoting our cultural heritage by including the use of Irish alongside sustainability as goals to be achieved internally in the policies and practices of media service providers. Not only do we seek to include a commitment by an coimisiún to promote the internal use of Irish within media providers, which would go a long way towards normalising it within broadcasters and media to begin with and which could also filter into what is broadcast, but we also seek to replicate the goal of the previous amendment by turning what is a vague obligation to "promote and encourage environmental sustainability" into an obligation to "promote and encourage increased use of the Irish language and environmental sustainability". In this way, we can monitor any such increase to see if the goal is being met, which can shape the coimisiún's approach.

We all acknowledge that the use of both Irish and environmental sustainability in the context of policies and practices of media providers is not satisfactory, even if they often pay lip service to both. As a result, we should not settle for promoting and encouraging the status quo, which would sadly be the result of this Bill if enacted with its current wording. We should instead aim for a measurable increase. The coimisiún's efforts to promote and increase the use of the Irish language internally within media providers could be examined by an Coimisinéir Teanga.

Amendment No. 30 refers to the strategic planning conducted by the commission and suggests that reporting on the progress of the commission's policies should have specific regard to the role of the Irish language in media if we are serious about improving its position and ensuring that an Coimisinéir Teanga never again has to submit reports on the failure of State media corporations to uphold their legal obligations to the national language. As such, Sinn Féin would include the use of Irish as a fourth specific area in respect of which strategic reviews must be taken by the commission, alongside funding, technological and social change, and child protection in respect of broadcasting, audiovisual on-demand media and relevant online services.

Tá súil agam gurb é amendment No. 228 an ceann deireanach. Sinn Féin believes that, as the primary legislation on the regulation and governance of media in this State, the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022 should have increasing the visibility and use of Irish in media in public life and ensuring diverse content for Irish speakers as part of its core purpose. As such, we are proposing a number of amendments to strengthen the role of the Irish language in media through this Bill, including amendments with specific reference to the national aim of restoring the use of Irish. This is particularly necessary given the clear failure of the existing provisions on the Irish language in media under the Broadcasting Act 2009. We can see from the reports by Dr. John Walsh and Dr. Rosemary Day that I cited earlier that radio stations pay no heed to the requirement to support the use of Irish, particularly in Gaeltacht areas. An Coimisinéir Teanga had to submit a report to the Houses of the Oireachtas, such was the abject failure of RTÉ to adhere to its obligations with regard to the national language. The existing law has failed. This is a unique opportunity to improve that law and to strengthen the role of Irish in media. This is the first time since an tUachtarán, Michael D. Higgins, was Minister that responsibility for both an Ghaeilge and media has come under the same Department. It would be a terrible shame if we failed to stand up for the Irish language in this legislation so we are offering amendments for the Minister to accept or, at the very least, support, including amendments with the aim of increasing the visibility and use of Irish in the Title to the Bill.