John Bruton
Question:3 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach if he will provide details of the official meetings and engagements he fulfilled on his visit to the United States of America in the week commencing 15 December 1997. [22715/97]
Ceisteanna—Questions. - Visits to United States and Northern Ireland.
Proinsias De Rossa
Question:4 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on his visit to the United States of America. [22719/97]
Joe Higgins
Question:5 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Taoiseach if Conradh na Gaeilge was among the groups he met on his recent visit to Northern Ireland. [22781/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 to 5, inclusive, together.
I visited the United States on 14-16 December. The main focus of my visit was my meeting with President Clinton. We took the opportunity to review the talks and their possible future direction. I thanked the President for his tremendous personal commitment to the peace process and the invaluable support which he and his administration are giving. My meeting at the White House was followed by a press reception and a media lunch.
I also visited New York and Boston. In New York I addressed a dinner with an investment promotion focus arranged by the IDA at the Plaza Hotel. In Boston I attended a dinner in my honour hosted by a great friend of Ireland, Senator Edward Kennedy, at the JFK Library. I also visited Boston College.
These engagements provided me with an opportunity to meet a great many friends of Ireland, to thank them for their ongoing support and to highlight the excellent investment opportunities which Ireland offers. I have arranged for copies of the speeches I made to be placed in the Oireachtas Library.
The current president of Conradh na Gaeilge was among the people I met on my visit to Belfast. The Government has been actively pursuing with the British Government specific proposals to vindicate the rights of those who wish to use the Irish language in their daily lives in Northern Ireland or to equip their children to do so. The Government is fully supportive of moves to ensure the Irish language is seen and accepted as part of the heritage of all the people of Ireland of all traditions. I see no reason these two objectives cannot be pursued in parallel and I fully support all those who work to promote the Irish language on an inclusive non-sectarian basis.
The Taoiseach's visit to the United States was a useful one. It was useful to have the opportunity of complimenting the
United States President on the work he has done in support of the peace process, working with successive Taoisigh. Is it intended that the full cost of the Taoiseach's trip to the United States will be met from public funds? Did the Taoiseach engage in Fianna Fáil fundraising activity in Boston while in the United States at public expense? Is it the intention that Fianna Fáil will make a proportionate refund to public funds for the share of the cost of the trip appropriate to the party political aspect thereof?
I thank the Deputy for his first two comments. On his third comment, yesterday I had a breakfast engagement which was attended by 14 or 15 people. I am not sure if it was a fundraising event but there were in attendance people who have been supportive of Fianna Fáil in the past. There were also in attendance one or two people who have probably supported the Deputy's party in the past. I will check whether my party will receive any money and whether we should make a small donation towards the cost. I was present for 45 minutes and I did not have breakfast.
It will have to be declared under US law.
(Dublin West): Do not throw it in the skip.
It is interesting to hear of Fianna Fáil approaching Fine Gael contributors. The Taoiseach's visit to the United States was worthwhile. It was useful to have President Clinton's recommitment to the process. Did the Taoiseach raise with him the question of undocumented Irish people living in the United States? What steps are being taken to assist them regularise their position? The Taoiseach indicated that he met an tUasal Ó Cearbhallain of Conradh na Gaeilge. Was the Taoiseach aware at that stage of an tUasal Ó Cearbhallain's statement in which he referred to the learning of Irish by Unionists as a disease? Does the Taoiseach regard this as an obnoxious statement for the leader of an organisation funded by the State to make? If one were to substitute the title "Jew" for "Unionist"——
A question, please.
——would we not all be condemning such a comment outright?
A successor to Douglas Hyde.
I would not consider such remarks, if they were made, as helpful. It has been brought to my attention that the person concerned claims that his remarks in the newspaper account in The Irish News were misrepresented, that the central point he was making was that the Irish language should be made more appealing to Unionists. I have set out our views on the issue. I understand he was one of several hundred people I met at the open session. I did not have a formal meeting with him. I was not aware that I had met him until the question was tabled.
Will the Taoiseach respond to my first question relating to undocumented Irish people living in the United States? Will the Taoiseach contact Conradh na Gaeilge directly to make known his views and mine as well as those of anybody else in the House who is concerned about this matter? Given that this organisation receives substantial State funding it is not acceptable for such intolerant statements to be made by its leader.
What I have said today on the position of the Government will have made them aware of that. Conradh na Gaeilge run very useful courses and I do not want to take from its good work. I did not raise the issue of the other document with President Clinton but I did discuss it with a number of others within the context of forthcoming events. Recently I also met a number of emigrant groups home on a visit, some diocesan groups in addition to some Irish emigrant associations in New York and Boston who pointed out that their difficulties had changed dramatically from those obtaining a few years ago. They presented me with a paper which they asked me to examine to ascertain whether outstanding issues could be dealt with over the next year or so.
(Dublin West): An dtuigeann an Taoiseach gur thug Uachtarán Chonradh na Gaeilge masla do mhóran daoine nuair a dúirt sé gur ghalar a bhí ann an Ghaeilge a mhúineadh do Phrosastúnaigh agus nauir a chas sé anuas ar scoláirí Gaeilge a bhí ina bProsastúnach. Más iarracht de mhagadh de shaghas a bhí ann nuair a dúirt sé na rudaí sin nach raibh sé amaideach do Uachtarán Chonradh na Gaeilge an tslí a fhágáil ar oscailt do mhíthuiscint? Ghoill sé ar anchuid daoine go mór-mhór orthu siúd atá ag déanamh tréan iarracht an Ghaeilge a mhúineadh i slí tras-phobal agus an seicteachas a ghearradh amach on Ghaeilge.
Even if the president of Conradh na Gaeilge did say later that his remarks about teaching Irish Protestants were a very clumsy attempt at black humour, would the Taoiseach agree it was highly ill-advised of him to create the risk of the Irish language even being seen to be used in a sectarian manner? Is the Taoiseach aware that these remarks caused great upset among many Irish speakers in the North, among groups who work very hard there to decouple the Irish language from identification with a narrow nationalist view? Since the president of Conradh na Gaeilge might be seen as speaking for Conradh in this article — which he probably was not — and Conradh might be seen as speaking for Irish speakers in the Republic, would the Taoiseach agree it would be criminal and totally wrong of any individual or any group to run the risk of suggesting that Irish is the property of one community in the North rather than being the heritage of all to be received by all in whatever manner they wish?
I think Deputy John Bruton has already made that point in his reference to a former President, Douglas Hyde. There are many people of different religions involved in Irish language movements all over the country who are very proud of it. I am quite sure they do not want their use of the language identified with their religion because they are two separate and distinct facets of their lifestyle. Of course, any remarks that endeavour to put a sectarian slant on things are clearly unhelpful. I have already expressed the Government view on that and said, in reply to Deputy De Rossa, we shall make it known.
No doubt the Taoiseach will be aware that the United States President is due to visit Birmingham in the first half of next year as part of a United States/European Union summit meeting. Did he raise with the US President the possibility of a further visit by him to Ireland during that period and, if so, what was his response?
I repeated the existing invitation to the United States President. Certainly he would like to come here within the remaining years of his tenure in office but he has no date under consideration at present.
Is that why he put off his golfing invitation?
I will send along a few of my colleagues who are quite good at the game.