Vol. 488 No. 5
5 D'fhiafraigh Mr. Kenny den Aire Ealaíon, Oidhreachta, Gaeltachta agus Oileán an aontaíonn sí leis an ráiteas a chuir Aire Stáit na Roinne amach le déanaí gur ceart daonna é go mbeadh seirbhísí poiblí le fáil ag muintir na Gaeltachta as Gaeilge; go mbeadh daoine ann a bheadh in ann déileáil leis na seirbhísí seo as Gaeilge agus ós rud é nach bhfuil siad le fáil faoi láthair gur easpa ceart daonne atá ann faoi láthair; agus an ndéanfaidh sí ráiteas ina thaobh. [6723/98]
Faoi mar a chuir mé in iúl don Theach cheana, glacaim leis nach bhfuil fáil mar ba cheart ag pobal na Gaeilge sa Ghaeltacht agus lasmuigh di ar sheirbhísí Stáit trí Ghaeilge.
In the address by the Minister of State, Deputy Ó Cuív, to a seminar in Westport on 6 February, he outlined the steps he proposed to take to improve the position in relation to the delivery of services through Irish and I fully support his approach in this regard.
Cuirfidh mé an cheist seo as Gaeilge más maith leat. Beagnach bliain ó shin nuair a toghadh tú mar Aire Gaeltachta chuir mé ceist ort ar mhiste leat go gcuirfí na ceisteanna ort as Gaeilge nó i mBearla agus dúirt tú, "as Bearla, má sé do thoil é". Tá súil agam go bhfuil tú ag leanúint ar aghaidh leis an teanga a fhoghlaim mar a dúirt tú ag an am sin. Séard atá i gceist agamsa anseo ná cad é do thuairimse mar Aire Gaeltachta. Glacaim leis go ndúirt an tAire Stáit na rudaí seo ag an scoil deireadh seachtaine i gCathair na Mart cúpla seachtain ó shin agus thug sé óráid bheag ag an gComhchoiste faoi seo inné wreisin. Ach cad é do mheas féin mar Aire Gaeltachta faoin teanga? An easpa cearta daonna é nach bhfuil na seirbhísí ar fáil as Gaeilge nó an easpa cearta sibhialta atá i gceist?
I thank the Deputy for his encouraging remarks. I hope they are meant well. As I said in my answer to the question, I very much agree with the remarks by the Minister of State in Westport on 6 February. We talk about the rights of Irish speakers. Surely everyone in this House understands and must ensure that those rights are given full expression. In order to do that we have to look at our own public bodies to ensure that the delivery of State services through Irish to Irish speakers both inside and outside the Gaeltacht is satisfactory. Unfortunately, it is not as satisfactory as it should be. That has been recognised by the Minister of State and that is precisely why he made the statement he did in Westport.
We have to look at why the situation is as it is. To date we have not had legislation to deal with this matter. There has certainly been goodwill on all sides of the House towards encouraging the delivery of State services through Irish. Unfortunately, this has not happened in every sphere as we would have liked. There has been a gradual improvement, and that has to be recognised. However, the voluntary guidelines that were drawn up have not proved as successful as they should have been. That is why the Minister of State has already put forward the intention not only of our Department but of the Government to bring in a language Bill to deal with these situations. Legislation itself will not be the answer to everything but we certainly hope it will give the general outlines that are needed to enable individuals to do business with the State through Irish if they wish to do so, whether or not they live in Gaeltacht areas.
With regard to the general human rights approach, I look on this as a right in every sense of the word. In the 1970s in the context of women's rights, especially in the area of equal pay, it was recognised that women's rights should not only be fought for but given expression in law. That is what we are trying to do with regard to the delivery of State services through Irish. We should begin there, and that is the intention of the Government.
Glacaim leis an méid atá ráite ag an Aire faoin Aire Stáit. Níor thug tú freagra cruinn ar an gceist a chuir mé ort. Dúirt tú go nglacann tú leis, "in every sense" a dúirt tú. Más rud é gur é do mheas mar Aire Rialtais gur easpa cearta daonna é nach bhfuil na seirbhísí ar fáil tré Ghaeilge ag muintir na Gaeltachta agus acu siúd a labhrann Gaeilge, ba cheart go dtiocfadh an tiar Uachtarán Máire Mhic R6ibín isteach anseo. Mas rud é go bhfuil an Rialtas ag rialú na tíre agus easpa cearta daonna glactha ag Aire Rialtais toisc nach bhfuil seirbhísí ar fáil as Gaeilge, ba cheart dúinn rud éigin a dhéanamh faoi sin. Glacaim leis an méid a dúirt an tAire Stáit leis an gComhchoiste inné faoin mBille atá sé le tabhairt isteach agus mar a dúirt mé leis ag an am sin, caithfimid glacadh leis nach féidir linn chuile rud a dhéanamh tré Ghaeilge. Ba chóir go mbeadh common sense ann mar a déarfá.
Ach ba mhaith liom arís díriú isteach ar do mheas pearsanta.
Tá óráid á tabhairt ag an Teachta.
Ceist an-tábhachtach í seo. An easpa cearta daonna nó easpa cearta sibhialta atá i gceist toisc nach bhfuil na seirbhísí ar fáil as Gaeilge?
I have already addressed that point. I certainly attempted to do so in my last answer. When the Minister of State was making his remarks on 6 February he referred to the denial of human rights if a native Irish speaker was not able to do his or her business through Irish when dealing with the State. Surely that service should be there. We are talking first and foremost about the delivery of State services to people who live in the Gaeltacht or to people who have Irish but who live outside the Gaeltacht. That was the reference the Minister of State made, if the Deputy opposite would care to read his statement in more detail.
I have it here.
It is important to realise that in that statement he pointed out a number of issues that needed immediate attention, not least the question of being able to bring grievances to the attention of the State through Irish. That is why there was reference to an ombudsman. It has not yet been decided whether there should be an ombudsman to deal with issues through Irish. That is something that can be discussed at a later stage. The Minister of State was outlining the general issues that need immediate attention and that he, I and the Government wished to see addressed through legislation.
