Molaim an aguisín seo do chur leis:—
At the end of the section to add the following words:—
Provided that a fixed sum shall be set aside each year to be spent for the benefit of Irish speakers in the Fíor-Ghaeltacht; that the spending of this sum shall be supervised by an administrative unit responsible to the Minister which shall be charged with the duty of preserving and extending the use of the Irish language in the Fíor-Ghaeltacht in addition to improving the economic lot of this the people and which shall have no functions in relation to non-speakers of Irish.
An lá deireannach nuair do bhí an tAire ag léiriú téarmaí an Bhille seo ba chúis áthais domsa ná raibh dearmad déanta aige ar an gceist thábhachtach seo i dtaobh na Fíor-Ghaeltachta agus go raibh beartaithe aige faoin mBille um Chiste Forbartha Náisiúnta go dtabharfaí £250,000 le haghaidh na Gaeltachta. Insan alt de na holibreacha sin is ea atá suim agam féin. Molaim an soláthar atá déanta ag an Aire i gcomhair na gceantar sin. Is mór an t-ábhar dóchais gur chuimhnigh sé féin air gan daoine eile bheith ag brú air. Molaim an Rialtas mar gheall air. Maidir leis na hoibreacha atá beartaithe ag an Rialtas faoin gCiste Forbartha Náisiúnta tá ceist nó dhó agam ina thaobh. Measaim gur luadh £250,000 Níl fhios agam an mbeidh sé i dtaobh leis an £250,000 sin gan aon bhreis a chur ins an gCiste an dara, an treas nó an cheathrú bliain. Níor innis an tAire é sin dúinn. Is dócha go bhfágfaí gach bliain dó féin agus ná fuil fhios cad a thitfidh amach. Faoin mBille féin cuirtear £20,000,000 ar fáil. Le haghaidh na Gaeltachta £250,000 as an £20,000,000 sin agus measain gur beag agus gur ró-bheag é sin.
Ba mhaith liom daingniú éigin a bheith agam go mbeadh suim éigin sa chiste. Ní raibh aon léiriú ag an Aire faoi caidé ciall a bhí leis an ainm "Gaeltacht." Ba mhaith liom féin beagán a rá faoin gceist sin. Níl ionannas coinníoll ná ionannas Gaelachais i ngach cuid den Ghaeltacht fé mar aithnítear anois é. De ghnáith sambhlaímid dúinn féin trí chinéal Gaeltachta a bheith ann, ag tosnú leis an mbreac-Ghaeltacht mar a bhfuil Gaeilge ag roinnt bheag daoine fásta agus fíor-bheagán ag na daoine óga agus cleachtadh agus conbharsáid Béarla is mó a bhíonn ar siúl acu ionas gur beag leanbh in so' chor a tógtar le Gaeilge. Tá Gaeltacht eile idir é sin agus an Fhíir-Gaeltacht. Tugtar an Ghaeltacht air. Ins an gceantar sin bíonn cuid mhór daoine a bhfuil Gaeilge acu. Bíionn cuid mhór Gaeilge ag cuid mhór de na daoine agus bíonn tigh fánach thall is i bhfus mar a tógtar leanbh le Gaeilge. Tugtar an Ghaeltacht air sin agus is cainteoirí Gaelige ó triocha faoin gcéad go dtí bhféidir seachtó nó ochtó faoin gcéad de na daoine. Ach san gceantar sin tá an Béarla greamaithe go maith sna daoine óga.
Is é áit ar cóir dúinn an imní is mó a bheith orainn faoi ná an áit a dtugaimid an Fhíor-Ghaeltacht air, áit a bhfuil Gaeilg ag gach duine, áit a dtógtar leanaí le Gaeilg sna tithe, sa bhaile agus ar scoil. Is í an Fhíor-Ghaeltacht atá i gceist san moladh seo atáimíd a chur ós comhair an Aire agus is air sin atá m'aigne dírithe anios.
Tá an Fhíor-Ghaeltacht ann fós d'ainneion a bhfuair sí d'fhaillí, d'ainneoin a bhfuair sí de chroch-mheas go rí-mhinic, d'ainneoin Eibhlíse agus Chromaill, d'ainneoin an bhriseadh a tugadh ar lucht na Gaelige lena linn siúd, d'ainneoin na faillí oifigiúla a tugadh inti riamh ó shoin, d'ainneoin an tréigin mhóir a deineadh ins an naoú céad déag nuair do thréig formhór na tíre úsáid na teangan. D'ainneoin na nithe sin tá an Ghaeltacht fós ann, cé gur Gaeltacht bheag chúng atá anois ann tar éis na rudaí a tharla. Tá an teanga in uachtar go fóill agus tá sí ar an dtinteán sa bhaile agus leanaí á dtógaint inti. Is inontach an scéal gur mhair aon Ghaeltacht in Éirinn agus is iontaí fós an scéal go bhfuil sí chomh beo, chomh cinnte tugtha do Ghaeilge agus a bhí caoga nó céad bliain ó shoin.
Is ábhar dóchais dúinn agus is cabhair don náisiún agus do smaoineamh an náisiúnachais in Éirinn go bhfuil an iarsma fós againn chun feidhm do bhaint as, chun bheith maíteach as agus chun úsáid a bhaint aisti, chun an obair a thabhairt chun críche i dtaobh an Ghaeilge a thabhairt thar n-ais. Mar sin sé mo mholadhsa go gcuirfí cuid de chiste na Gaeltachta ar leith don Fhíor-Ghaeltacht, go gcuirfí airgead i leith an cheantair sin agus go gcaithfí é sin ar fad ar mhaithe le Gaeilge agus lucht labhartha Gaeilge ins an bhFíor-Ghaeltacht. Nílim á mholadh go ndéanfaí aon éagóir ar an mBreac-Ghaeltacht nó an Ghaeltacht imeallach atá idir an dá shaghas. Gheobhfaidh said sin a gcuid féin ach ba mhaith liom a dhaingniú nach bhfaighdís airgead atá ag teastáil don bhFíor-Ghaeltacht agus go mbronnfaí an t-airgead go cinnte don obair speisialta atá le déanamh sa bhFíor-Ghaeltacht. Obair an-speisialta ar fad atá i gceist agus ní hiononn in aon chor an obair sa bhFíor-Ghaeltacht agus an modh oibre a caithfear a chleachtadh ins na náiteanna sin.
I suggest to the Minister that of the money provided already he should take part, earmark it for use in the Gaeltacht and in the Gaeltacht only, and see that it is expended for the benefit of Irish speakers and the more firm establishment of the language in the place we for call the Fíor-Ghaeltacht. With a fund like that, many things that have not yet been attempted can be attended to.
I am concerned with two things in connection with the Fíor-Ghaeltacht; the first is to assist them economically, but before that and above that and receiving greater consideration I wish the fund to be expended in such a manner as will encourage the people to remain in the status of Fíor-Ghaeltacht people, and encourage them to use, as they are doing at present, the Irish language only in connection with all their activities and any new activities that might be provided for under the Bill.
I want the Fíor-Ghaeltacht to receive public and official recognition and to be dealt with as a special problem, more complex than even the Breac-Ghaeltacht itself. I want moneys made available by the State to be directed possibly more towards the linguistic advantage of the area than in any other manner. For that purpose, I suggest the Minister should set up an administrative unit, a committee or board—call it what you like—responsible to the Minister himself. It would be charged with the wise expenditure of this money, or the advice to the given for its wise expenditure, in that very restricted area.
It is said to have to admit that there is now so restricted an area of Fíor-Ghaeltacht. It consists of ten or 12 parishes only, or parts of parishes. These comprise the Fíor-Ghaeltacht, scattered from Ring to Kerry and from Connemara to Donegal. That is the area I am concerned about and which I should like the Minister and the Government to be particularly concerned about when they come to apply the funds for the betterment of the people in it and the language they speak. I am particularly concerned about the expenditure of the money— it is a considerable amount and it would be disastrous if it were spend to little effect. In order to ensure its wise expenditure, a body of the kind I mentioned should be set up. Their function would be to do whatever is given to them by the Minister to deal with, as the Minister is in sole charge and may erect any kind of machinery he wishes. For a long time we have been looking for such a body to deal with the Fíor-Ghaeltacht. This is an opportunity to bring it into being. We have not had as good an opportunity before, when funds could be made available and work laid out for such a body to do.
I should like that committee or unit to be concerned only with the Fíor-Ghaeltacht and its activities should not be scattered or disintegrated by other duties which verge on that. The Fíor-Ghaeltacht is so precious a heritage, it is so valuable to the national movement, it is the stamp of our historical nationhood, that I think it deserves at least that this step be taken. The problem is a very complex one. It includes the economic welfare of the people of the Fíor-Ghaeltacht, the linguistic character of the purpose we have in mind, cultural instruction and teaching, social and other services. I would like to see a body getting authority to co-ordinate these things in relation to the Irish language and in relation to the beneficial treatment of the people who speak that language.
I do not intend to refer to the importance of the Gaeltacht. It is realised by everyone. We have failed so far to create some body to which the people of the Gaeltacht would look for direct assistance, direct instruction, direct interest, a body which they could take as fathering them and leading them to success and to a more satisfying life in their own area. That would include many of the things. I have mentioned.
There is also need for co-ordination of all the State services in order to aim at a common end and common purpose as well as carrying out their ordinary functions. These are many. In the Gaeltacht, like the rest of the country, you have the State services in full operation all the time. Possibly the most active one is the Department of Education. In passing, I should like to pay a compliment to those working under the Department of Education for their work in the Gaeltacht schools. They are doing the thing we want done and we wish them success. You have the social services, old age pensions, unemployment insurance, national health benefits—for all of which there are very active units in every Gaeltacht in the country.
Under the Department of Justice we have the policy, the courts, the issue of licences and permits, and so on. We have the customs and excise people. We have transport, buses, goods deliveries and the rest. We have the Post Office. We have possibly the greatest of the whole lot, the activities of the local public bodies and councils.
One of our principal grievances in the national movement for a long time has been that there is no evidence of co-ordinated purpose among all these. Each works on its own for the carrying out of its own duties, irrespective very often of questions of language or the effect on the practice of the Irish language in these areas. I should like a body to be set up that would be permitted to take part in certain phases of the work of these Departments. I should like if there was a common purpose in regard to Irish in all the Departments and that advice and instruction would be available to the Departments and their officers from time to time as to particular circumstances in the Fíor-Ghaeltacht.
If the Government set up the body that I speak of, I should like that they should be endowed with the right of interview with those people and of instruction and that the whole machine of the State, plus the machinery that would be set up under this Bill, would be directed to the betterment of the status of Irish in these areas and that there would not be stultifying carelessness or want of thought on the part of one Department to the detriment of the greater use of the Irish language and more determined propaganda in regard to the Irish language.
These are the matters on which I should like the Minister to cogitate. After hearing us, he might be inclined to make some arrangement whereby that body could be brought into being. That is my proposal.
Go gcuirfí airgead cinnte i leith na Fíor-Ghaeltachta, cuid den airgead atá ag dul dóibh ó cheart, faoin mBille seo; go mbeach dream éigin le chomhairle agus le eolas do thabhairt don Aire mar is é a bheas i gceannas an ruda ar fad; go mbeadh an cineál sin coiste nó bord riaracháin ann agus go mbeadh, ina theannta sin, liaison éigin idir iad sin agus na seirbhísí poiblí eile ar fad. Tá riachtanas leis sin. Tá gach duine againn a bhfuil staidéir déanta aige ar an nGaeltacht ar an tuairim gur gá na nithe seo. Anois, ó tá an t-airgead seo á chus ar fáil agus coiste á bhunú, tá súil agam go dtiocfaidh as sin institiud nó coiste nó dream éigin a thógfaidh cúram na Fíor-Ghaeltachta orthu féin agus a bheadh ullamh chun chomhairle agus eolas do fhreastal don Aire. Molaimse go gcuirfimis an aguisín seo le alt a 4.
