I move amendment No. 1 on behalf of Deputy McGilligan:
In subsection (1), page 2, line 23, to delete "An Chúirt Uachtarach" and the brackets enclosing the next three words.
If the House is agreeable there are a number of following amendments which might be considered at the same time. The purpose of this is to delete the words "An Chúirt Uachtarach" in the section so that the section, if the House agreed, would read: "...the Court of Final Appeal, which in pursuance of Article 34 of the Constitution is to be called the Supreme Court, shall stand established." I hope it will be understood that this amendment is not put down with a desire in any way to belittle the Irish language or the language revival movement.
The object of the amendment is to provide some reason and sense in our legislation. We have come into this House under a Constitution which provides that we are entitled to speak either Irish or English and the Constitution provides the right to speak both languages but I do not know that the Constitution provides that we can speak either pidgin English or pidgin Irish. Pidgin English connotes the type of person in some of England's former colonies who knew a bit of English and a bit of the native language and proceeded to converse in a kind of hybrid language, using part of his native tongue and part of some other tongue.
We frequently find legislation being proposed in this House in English, having every important section and point in English and then a genuflection is paid to the Irish language by calling the particular board to be established by some Irish title. That kind of approach to the language has led to absurdity and to jokes which one hears on the stage and elsewhere belittling the language. Here we find, under the proposal in the Bill brought in by the present Minister for Justice, and discussed by his Parliamentary Secretary, that this disease is beginning to spread to the courts. I noticed the other day when the President of Ireland decided to refer legislation from this House, he referred it to the Supreme Court of the country. The announcement was in English and very properly the President referred to the court in accordance with the title by which it is known and respected, the Supreme Court.
The purpose of Deputy McGilligan's amendment is to prevent that court being described as something which it is not. Under this section—if it were passed—it is to be described as "An Chúirt Uachtarach (The Supreme Court)". I do not know by what authority it can be so described. Our Constitution provides that it shall be called in the Irish language, An Chúirt Uachtarach, and in the English language that it shall be called the Supreme Court.
I am surprised to learn that we arrogate to ourselves in this House the right to change the Constitution. I should have thought that since 1937 we should, at least have learned the lesson that we have no right in the Dáil or in the Oireachtas itself to alter by even a comma what the Constitution provides. I suggest that the Minister or the Parliamentary Secretary might consider this amendment as being helpful and withdraw the different references to our courts in the Bill except where we are referring to them in the Irish language and then, very properly and appropriately, they should be called by the Irish equivalents. Where we are referring to them, as we are in this Bill, which is being discussed in English, we should call them by the English names. The English name in this context is the Supreme Court and, in relation to the other sections, we should refer to them by the appropriate titles by which they are known.