Táirgim an Bille seo do'n tSeanad ar an dara léigheadh dho. 'Sé tá faoi an Bhille, brigh Alt a Ceathrar de'n Bhun Reacht a thabhairt chun cinn agus deanfar so ar chaoi nach gnithear éagcóir ar aon duine. Mar sin do, iarraim ar an tSeanaid aontú leis an mBille seo.
I move the Second Reading of the Legal Practitioners (Qualification) Bill, which proposes to secure that future members of the legal profession shall possess a competent knowledge of the Irish language. That purpose is stated in the long title. The Bill is a comparatively short one, comprising six sections, and though its object is simple and clear, that object has very important implications, and, if and when achieved, would produce far-reaching reactions not alone in the law courts, but also, I believe, in the national life generally of the Saorstát. During its passage through the Dáil the Bill was subjected to severe and exhaustive scrutiny, and those who followed the discussions in that House, or who have since read the Official Reports, are no doubt fully conversant with the various provisions of the Bill. Nevertheless I presume that something in the nature of explanation is expected, and before I enter upon anything in the nature of argument on behalf of the provisions, it might be well to run over the main essentials of the Bill.
The main feature of Section 1 is that the expression "competent knowledge of the Irish language" is defined as "such a degree of oral and written proficiency in the use of the language as is sufficient to enable a legal practitioner properly to conduct the business of his clients in the Irish language." Section 2 states the age of those persons exempt from the operation of the Bill. No person who is over the age of fifteen on the 1st October of this year will be affected by the Bill. Section 3 prescribes that no person shall be admitted to practise as a barrister-at-law in the courts of Saorstát Eireann unless such person has satisfied the Chief Justice that he or she possesses a competent knowledge of Irish. There is, however, a provision in this section which continues the reciprocal arrangements with other Bars whereby members of the Saorstát Bar may be admitted to practise at such other Bars. Section 4 prescribes that in the examinations held by the Incorporated Law Society the Irish language shall be a compulsory subject. Section 5 prescribes the qualification in respect of the Irish language necessary for the admission of any person to the profession of solicitor. Section 6 simply states that the Act may be cited as "The Legal Practitioners Act." That, in brief, is the outline of the Bill, and it seems to me, after considering its proposals at some length, to be one which is moderate and reasonable and scarcely likely to arouse any very serious opposition in the Seanad.
It is not my intention to anticipate criticism or objections, and I propose to defer the main part of my argument to the close of the debate; but there are just three points of importance which I think it would be well to make some reference to at this stage—namely, the basic justification for the introduction of the Bill, the question of whether or not its introduction has been done with unseemly haste, and third, is its operation likely to inflict undue hardship on those who propose to enter either branch of the legal profession? Other points may be raised in the course of the discussion, and, if so, I will endeavour to deal with them at the proper time.
In the Dáil one of the chief arguments advanced in justification of the introduction of the Bill was the fact of the existence of many thousands of Irish speakers in the Gaeltacht and the importance and equity of those citizens of the Saorstát being able to command the assistance of Irish-speaking solicitors and barristers when necessary. That is an important consideration, and one which has an insistent claim upon the attention of the Oireachtas; but I think there is a stronger and wider ground of justification for this Bill. The basic ground upon which this matter rests primarily is that Irish is the national language of this country. We would be sunk very low indeed as a people and would have lost contact with the vital springs of our national being if we failed to appreciate this fundamental aspect of the matter, or if we failed to take a deep and honourable pride in the fact that our nation possesses a distinct and ancient language of its own which links our generation to historic traditions that have given our race a notable and hallowed renown in the annals of civilisation's development. It is true that by grievous external forces and oppressive enactments that language has been depressed and driven from a considerable area of our country; but the very extent of that depression and suppression should be the measure of our determination to restore it to its natural position in the country now that we have recovered the authority and the means by which to effect that restoration. Therefore, in bringing forward this measure its promoters must not be regarded as engaging in a wanton effort to impose a needless and irritating ordeal upon the legal profession. That is neither the object nor the spirit of this Bill. It aims at something totally different, namely, that of securing the cooperation of the coming generation of the legal profession in a wholehearted and comprehensive attempt to give the language its due and rightful place in the national life.
I would like to make it clear that I am not viewing a vote one way or the other on this Bill as the sole and acid test of Irish patriotism. I am aware that there is a section in the country who do not regard the language as an integral part of our national existence, whose conception of a fully functioning State or nation is one which can dispense with the factor of the language. That is not my view, nor is it, I believe, the view of these elements within the nation which will most wisely serve its needs both for the present and the future. Nevertheless, I appreciate the position and outlook of those to whom I allude. They are, I believe, a diminishing section, but it would be unjust, in my opinion, to treat them as outside the household of the nation because of their present outlook. My aim, at any rate, is to win them to an understanding of our point of view and to carry them with us in the building up of a national polity which has its roots in the inspiration which is derived from the language and all that the language stands for. For these reasons I urge that the proposals of this Bill be approached, not from the antagonistic positions of pro-language enthusiasm and anti-language pessimism, but rather from an appreciation of the fact that the restoration of the language is a settled and essential part of national policy and that this Bill merely advances that policy one step further.
It may be said indeed that we have gone beyond the stage when this aspect of national policy is arguable. The Irish language is enshrined and defined in our Constitution as the official language of Saorstát Eireann. Article 4 of the Constitution states:—
The national language of the Irish Free State (Saorstát Eireann) is the Irish language, but the English language shall be equally recognised as an official language.
That Article was not devised as a species of conventional homage to a passionate but fading sentiment. It was a serious and deliberate act, committing the State to a position in regard to the language from which it cannot recede with honour. We cannot abandon that position without annulling Article 4, and that, I think, no one proposes to do. Since then the Saorstát has gone forward by definite stages in the work of giving effect to the letter and the spirit of Article 4. Irish was made an essential subject in the primary schools in 1922. It was made an essential subject for the Intermediate last year. It is an essential subject for the Civil Service and for appointments in the teaching profession under the control of the Government. In view of these important facts, let it be no longer suggested that the object of this Bill is to single out the legal profession for penal victimisation. It is merely bringing this important institution of the State into line with the other departments of national life which are under control of the Oireachtas.
The assertion has been made that this Bill is an instance of hasty legislation, or, in other words, that it has been sprung on the legal profession with unnecessary precipitancy and without adequate notice. A little reflection on the circumstances pertaining to the matter will, I think, show that this contention is scarcely one which can be sustained. There have been indications in plenty which should have revealed to anyone with average foresight that such a step as that which this Bill proposes was impending. The position which the Irish language has been assigned in the Constitution should in itself have been almost sufficient foreshadowing of the objective of the Bill; and if there is any class, section or profession that might be expected to appreciate the significance of Article 4, surely it is the legal profession which deals with the construing and interpretation of the enactments of the Oireachtas. Irish is declared by that Article to be the official language of the Saorstát, and if there is one department of the State more than any other in which the official language should be in usage, it is in the law courts of the State.
If, however, Article 4 was not explicit enough, there was yet another indication which made manifest the fact that such a step as that of the present Bill could not be long delayed. I refer to the White Paper issued by the Government in connection with the Report of the Gaeltacht Commission. On page 29 of that document the policy of the Government is set out in terms that no one can describe as ambiguous:
In view of the fact that the use of Irish in the courts is handicapped because few solicitors or barristers are capable of doing their work in Irish, the Government is of opinion that no person who is under 16 years of age on the date of the issue of this Paper should hereafter be admitted as a solicitor or barrister without a competent knowledge of Irish.
The White Paper was issued in, I believe, February of 1928, fifteen months ago, and surely members of the legal profession must have read it, and, reviewing the whole matter and taking into consideration the policy in regard to the language which the Government has inaugurated in respect of the schools and the Civil Service, it was clearly obvious that legislation, such as that of this Bill, must at an early date materialise. If members of the legal profession failed to realise this, one must conclude that they were either asleep while these things were happening, or that they did not take seriously these repeated indications of national policy. At any rate, there is no ground for the complaint that they have been taken by surprise, that this Bill has been sprung upon them without full and timely notice.
I come now to the last point I wish to deal with at this stage, namely, whether the operation of this Bill when it becomes a statute will inflict any undue hardship on those who contemplate entering the legal profession. What are the facts we have to consider in this connection? No one, I believe, can qualify for either branch of the legal profession before the age of twenty-one. The Bill applies only to those who are fifteen years and under on the 1st October of this year, so that even if they had not already had a grounding in the language they would still have five or six years to study it before they could qualify. But we must bear in mind this additional fact, that Irish has been an essential subject in the primary schools since 1922, and any prospective law student who is fifteen years old on the 1st October next and who has come through the primary schools would have been about eight years of age when Irish was thus introduced into these schools and must have had several years training in the subject. Again, Irish was made an essential subject for the Intermediate last year, and, as was pointed out during the discussions in the Dáil, those who passed the Intermediate must have spent a couple of years studying Irish for the examination. So that it appears clear that all, save perhaps very exceptional cases, to whom this Bill applies will have already undergone a very considerable course of study of the language before they come under the operations of the provisions of the Bill, and I do not know that it would be good policy under any circumstances to make it a principle of law to legislate for exceptions. These considerations dispose, I think, fully of the argument that prospective entrants to the legal profession are likely to be unfairly handicapped by the passing of this measure.