Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 10 Dec 1931

Vol. 40 No. 22

In Committee on Finance. - Vote No. 40—Local Government and Public Health.

Minister for Local Government and Public Health (General Mulcahy)

I move:

Go ndeontar suim bhreise ná raghaidh thar £10 chun íoctha an Mhuirir a thiocfaidh chun bheith iníoctha i rith na bliana dar críoch an 31adh lá de Mhárta, 1932, chun Tuarastail agus Costaisí Oifig an Aire Rialtais Aitiúla agus Sláinte Puiblí, maraon le Deontaisí agus Costaisí eile a bhaineann le Tógáil Tithe, Deontaisí d'Udaráis Aitiúla agus Ildeontaisí i gCabhair, agus Costaisí Oifig Chigire na nOspideul Meabharghalar.

That a supplementary sum not exceeding £10 be granted to defray the Charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st day of March, 1932, for the Salaries and Expenses of the Office of the Minister for Local Government and Public Health, including Grants and other Expenses in connection with Housing, Grants to Local Authorities and sundry Grants-in-Aid, and the Expenses of the Office of the Inspector of Mental Hospitals.

This is simply a token Vote. In dealing with the Vote at the beginning of the year, a new item was introduced for the purpose of creating facilities for the training of Irish-speaking nurses and midwives. The idea was that in the development of the public health services of the Irish-speaking districts we had to have Irish-speaking nurses and midwives. The idea was that we should take young native Irish speakers from these Irish-speaking districts and give them a period of training as nurses. It was also the purpose that we should get Irish-speaking nurses already trained and get them trained as midwives, and give them a public health course. The phrasing in the Estimate is found to be too restricted to allow us to take nurses who are actually trained and give them a course of training in public health and in midwifery. We have already taken four fully trained Irish-speaking nurses and arranged for their being trained in midwifery and in public health. To wait until we had trained nurses and then give them a midwifery training would mean that four years would elapse. That is the system which has been arranged. This resolution is simply to widen the scope of the estimate in order to fulfil our purpose.

Mr. Derrig

Is it intended that this scheme should be confined to native speakers? Could not a nurse who was a qualified Irish speaker, irrespective of the fact that she belonged to the Gaeltacht area, be entitled to consideration if she had a good knowledge of Irish?

General Mulcahy

Considering the limited number of places that will be available, if otherwise suitable, preference will be given to native Irish speakers coming from Irish-speaking districts. But in so far as it is not from Irish-speaking districts having the necessary qualifications and education to take advantage of that training, then persons with an acquired knowledge of Irish will be taken. But the Deputy will understand the desirability in the first place of giving an opening in this particular way to persons actually in Irish-speaking districts, and the desirability of having nurses and midwives in these districts who have a perfect command of the language and who have an intimate knowledge of the conditions in the area in which they serve.

Mr. Derrig

Does that mean that persons who would not, in the ordinary event, go forward will now be entitled to go forward for training? If you have two nurses, one of whom belongs to the Gaeltacht and has a good knowledge of Irish and the other who has a good education and also a good knowledge of Irish, but who has not been brought up in the Gaeltacht, I should not like to see the latter class excluded from any advantage that they might get to enable them to make up for the loss that they have had owing to failure to practise. There are cases which the Minister knows of where you have nurses of many years' experience brought into competition with young native-speaking nurses who might not be so good as nurses. I am simply anxious that all nurses should get a chance if they have a knowledge of Irish to go forward for posts in the Gaeltacht.

Vote put and agreed to.

The Dáil went out of Committee.

Resolutions reported. Report agreed to.