Eileen Flynn (Independent)

I want to bring to the attention of Members the decision of TG4 not to broadcast a debate around the presidential election. What TG4 is doing is keeping thousands of people out of the conversation. I am a member of the Traveller community. My first language should be Cant but, unfortunately, it is not. Our language was robbed from us and I am raising this issue today because I am afraid that the same thing will happen to Irish-speaking people. A lot of Irish people in Donegal get their information from the likes of TG4, which got €60 million in public money this year. It got €60 million but it cannot or will not host a debate around the presidential election. I urge TG4 to think again about what it is doing to its viewers. If this was RTÉ or Virgin Media, we would definitely have them in front of the media committee. TG4 should be held accountable for not having a debate around the presidential election. I know that Heather Humphreys was a Minister with responsibility for the Irish language for three years. I also know that Jim Gavin was a representative of an Irish festival a few years ago. The three candidates claim to value, respect and honour the Irish language.Some of the candidates do not speak Irish but it is up to TG4 to facilitate that debate. It did so in 2011 and there is no reason it cannot do it again. Many elderly people in our society - many people whose first language is Irish - are locked out of this debate. That should not be the case when the channel is getting €60 million of public money. I urge TG4 to review this and have a debate for people who are fluent in Irish and get their information from the channel.

I have very little time to speak about the Irish flag. Before I was a Senator, I used to go to protests for workers' rights, migrant rights and women's rights and feel so proud to stand underneath the Irish flag. Nowadays, our flag is being used to intimidate us by the far right and I would like to have a debate about the Irish flag because there are many people in society who are a bit lost with the conversation about the flag. There is a lot of fear out there as well, so I would like to have a debate on the importance of the flag.

Just to say, I do not have two words of Irish. I am probably the only Senator in here who is ridiculous when it comes to Irish. I could not even say "Cathaoirleach" when I first came here. That does not mean I do not value the Irish language and my colleagues, like Deputies Ó Snodaigh and Connolly, make sure to involve me in Irish coffee mornings and the Irish committee. It is really important we support those who do not speak Irish as well.