Roimh am lóin bhí mé ag cur síos ar na Meastacháin mar a bhain siad le Roinn na Gaeltachta agus na deontais atá dá bhfáil ag Roinn na Gaeltachta. Is cúis bhróin agus díomá do mhuintir na Gaeltachta go bhfuil na deontais a bhí le fáil acu le fada an lá, deontais do bhóithre áise, imithe i mbliana agus nach bhfuil aon fhigiúr sna Meastacháin ach £5,020 leis na bóithre atá dá ndeisiú a chríochnú
Mar atá a fhios ag an saol mór tá fadhbanna ag na Gaeltachtaí uilig maidir le cúrsaí bóthair, cúrsaí taistil, agus rinne na scéimeanna seo go leor maitheasa do chaidhreamh agus do shaol mhuintir na Gaeltachta i gcoitinne. Is é an trua é nach raibh an tAire in ann a chur ina luí ar an Rialtas agus ar an Aire Airgeadais go raibh tábhacht mhór ag baint leis na bóithre seo agus go mba cheart go leanfaí ar aghaidh leis an deontas fial a bhíodh le fáil sna blianta atá caite. Ní amháin i gcúrsaí eacnamaíochta ach i gcúrsaí cultúrtha chomh maith tá cosúlacht ann nach bhfuil aon tsuim ag an Rialtas seo sna cúrsaí a bhaineann len ár gcultúr agus len ár gcultúr a chosaint. Tá sé sin fíor, go mór mhór maidir leis na Meastacháin agus na figiúirí atá le fáil ag Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann.
Tá ceist an chomhaltais faoi chaibidil go minic agus is ait an rud é go bhfeicimid cúrsaí sa chaoi go bhfuil an comhaltas i gCiarraí ag iarraidh aitheantas a fháil don obair iontach atá ar siúl acu ar mhaithe len ár gcultúr a chosaint agus a chaomhnú. Níl dabht ar bith agam ach go mbeadh an ceol agus an cultúr imithe ar fad mura mbeadh an ghluaiseacht a cuireadh ar bun agus ar chuir an comhaltas tús leis le ceol Gaelach agus le cultúr Gaelach a chosaint agus a chur chun cinn. Ní amháin go bhfuil tábhacht leis an gceol féin agus leis an gcultúr ach tugann sé aitheantas ar leith dúinn féin mar náisiún. Má thagann turasóirí anseo ón Eoraip, ó Mheiriceá agus áiteacha eile, tá sé le feiceáil acu go bhfuil ár gcultúr féin againn agus gur náisiún dá gcuid féin muid agus go dtig linn bheith bródúil as na traidisiúin atá againn agus a bunaíodh na céadta bliana ó shin. Ní ceart go mbeadh gá don chomhaltas brú a chur orainn mar Theachtaí Dála agus bheith ag iarraidh go dtabharfadh an Rialtas cabhair dóibh san obair atá ar siúl acu.
Rud a bhain turasóirí an-taitneamh astu ná na seisiúin a bhí ar siúl ag an gcomhaltas ar fud na tíre gach samhradh. Na daoine a bhios ag togáil páirt sna seisiúin seo, ní daoine iad a bhfuil an obair seo mar shlí bheatha acu. Faigheann siad aitheantas beag ó na tithe ósta ach is beag é. Tá siad ag déanamh na hoibre seo toisc go bhfuil meas acu ar na traidisiúin go bhfuil siad ag plé leo. Nuair a thagann na turasóirí go dtí na tithe ósta bíonn siad ag súil leis an ceol seo agus baineann siad an-sásamh as. An bhliain seo chugainn agus i mbliana ní bheidh an deontas a bhí le fáil ag an gcomhaltas le fáil feasta acu. Is mór an náire go dtarlódh a leithéid agus ní thuigim cén fáth go bhfuil gearradh siar mar seo á dhéanamh ar an gcomhaltas. Ní amháin go bhfuil siad ag plé le cúrsaí ceoil ach tá siad ag plé le cúrsaí teangan. Tá ranganna Gaeilge ar siúl acu i ngach áit ar fud na tíre agus buntáiste agus tairbhe iontach á bhaint as na ranganna sin ag na daoine atá ag iarraidh an teanga a fhoghlaim. Ní thuigim cén fath nach bhfuil aitheantas ceart á thabhairt dóibh i ngeall ar na himeachtaí atá ar siúl acu.
San chlár atá leagtha amach ag an gcomhaltas i gcóir na bliana seo agus na bliana seo caite tá cur síos ar na himeachtaí ar fad a bhíonn ar siúl acu, agus sílim gur cheart dúinn anseo mar Bhaill den Dáil, mar dhaoine go mba cheart treoir a bheith á tabhairt do na cúrsaí seo, lántacaíocht a thabhairt dóibh. Níl mise sásta go bhfuil an t-aitheantas sin á thabhairt ag an Dáil. Beimid ag déanamh agóide anseo ag iarraidh a chur ina luí ar an Rialtas gur cheart dóibh níos mó tacaíochta a thabhairt sna Meastacháin feasta do na himeachtaí seo ar fad. Tá argóint ann go bhfuair siad suim mhaith airgid le feabhas a chur ar an áras atá acu anseo i mBaile Átha Claith. Tá sé sin fíor agus táimid sásta leis sin, ach tá mise ag caint ar chostais reatha, na costais a bhíonn acu le rúdaí a choinneáil ar siúl ó lá go lá. Is náireach an rud é go bhfuil an stiúrthóir gan phá le tamall maith agus nach bhfuil tacaíocht airgid le fáil aige leis an obair iontach atá faoin a chúram a chur ar aghaidh. Ba cheart go dtuigfeadh an Rialtas agus daoine eile é sin. Ní ceart go dtarlódh a leithéid.
Ó thaobh saol eacnamaíochta na Gaeltachta, bhí obair an-mhaith á déanamh ag na comharchumainn, ach arís tá gearradh siar ar dheontais dóibh. Tá gearradh siar ar a gcuid oibre sa Ghaeltacht agus sin de bharr polasaíthe an Rialtais arís. Chuir mise ceist anseo ar an Aire tamall ó shin faoi na comharchumainn a bhí ag fáil deontas ó Roinn na Gaeltachta agus bhí iontas orm a laghad comharchumann atá anois ag obair sna Gaeltachtaí. Duine ar bith a bhfuil eolas aige ar shaol na Gaeltachta agus an dul chun cinn atá déanta acu le scór bliana anuas, sílim go gcaithfidh siad a rá go ndearna na comharchumainn níos mó ná a gcion féin le muinín muintir na tíre a chothú agus go mór mhór muintir na Gaeltachta a chothú, agus thug sé misneach dóibh dul i mbun oibre ar mhaithe leo féin agus ar mhaithe le saol eacnamaíochta na Gaeltachta a fheabhsú.
Tá aiféala orm arís nach bhfuil an tacaíocht atá tuillte acu a fháil ag Bord na Gaeilge. Níl airgead le fáil acu sna Meastacháin leis an chuid eile den phlean atá leagtha amach acu maidir le dul chun cinn na Gaeilge a láidriú. Cé go ndeireann Aire na Gaeltachta agus an Rialtas go bhfuil siad i bhfabhar na hoibre atá á déanamh ag an mBord, is beag i bhfad na briathra: mar a deir an seanfhocal, ní chothaíonn na briathra na bráithre. Is beag dul chun cinn atá in ann don bhord féin mura bhfaighidh siad lán tacaíocht ón Aire agus ón Rialtas ins an obair atá leagtha amach acu.
Ó thaobh an pháipéir úir atá tagtha amach anois agus atá á dháileadh ar fud na Gaeltachta, caithfidh mé a rá go bhfuil dáileadh maith ar an bpáipéar, i bhfad i bhfad níos fearr ná mar a bhí ar an bháipéar a thainig roimhe, Inniu. Tá sé á dhíol mar nuachtán agus iarracht an-mhaith á dhéanamh ach sílim go bhfuil easpaí ábhar liteartha ins an pháipéar, rud a bhí san iris Inniu agus rud a chuidigh go mór le scoláirí agus le lucht léinn. Ba mhaith liom go ndíreodh an páipéar aghaidh ar na cúrsaí sin, agus aris, má tá gá le breis airgid le cuidiú leis na daoine atá i mbun Anois go mbeadh an t-airgead sin le fáil ón Rialtas.
Chualamar caint chomh maith le tamall anuas ar thelefís Gaeltachta agus cé go bhfuil daoine ag rá go bhfuil an Rialtas báúil go gcuirfí a leithéid ar bun, ní fheicimid go bhfuil aon airgead le fáil sna Meastacháin leis an eagraíocht a chur ar bun. Arís nuair a fheicimid an dul chun chinn iontach a rinne Radio na Gaeltachta agus an buntáiste atá ann don Ghaeltacht agus le muintir na Gaeltachta a thabhairt le chéile, sílim ón méid atá feicthe againn, dá mbeadh teilifís Gaeltachta ann go bhféadfadh sé leanúint ar aghaidh leis an méid atá cothaithe ag Raidio na Gaeltachta ar mhaithe le muintir na Gaeltachta.
Anois nuair a bunaíodh RTE 2 thuig daoine ag an am go mbeadh seirbhísí breise le fáil ag muintir na Gaeltachta ó thaobh cláracha a bhain leis an Ghaeltacht agus ó thaobh na Gaeltachta ar fad agus go mbeadh deis i bhfad níos mó ag muintir na Gaeltachta cláracha a bhain leo féin a fheiceáil. Faraor, níor tharla sé sin agus níl cosúlacht ar bith go dtarlóidh sé. Ní fheicimse leigheas ar bith ar an scéal ach go gcuirfí teilifís Ghaeltachta ar bun chomh luath agus is féidir é. Tá sé ráite ag teicneoirí de chuid RTE nach mbeadh se ró-chostasach an tseirbhís sin a chur ar fáil. Ba mhaith liom iarraidh ar an Aire go n-iarrfadh sé ar an Rialtas airgead a sholáthar lé seirbhís teilifís don Ghaeltachta a chur ar bun chomh luath agus is féidir é.
Níl tada eile le rá agam ó thaobh na Meastachán don Ghaeltacht ach amháin go bhfuilimid an mhíshásta agus go bhfuil dearmad á dhéanamh ar phrionsabal a bhí bunaithe le fada an la ó thaobh deontas do na Gaeltachtaí, agus tá mise ar cur an lochta ar an Aire mar gheall ar na cúrsaí sin. Tuigim go rí-mhaith mar iar-Aire mé féin nuaír a bhíonn na Meastacháin á bplé agus airgead ag teastáil go gcaithfidh an tAire dul isteach agus a chion féin a throid le buntáistí a fháil don Roinn a bhfuil sé ina cheann uirthi. Tá faitíos orm nach bhfuil an tAire seo ag déanamh a chion féin maidir le seasamh leis an phrionsabal atá bunaithe le fada an lá, is é sin go dtabharfaí aitheantas faoi leith don Ghaeltacht agus do na seirbhísí a bheadh le fáil ag muintir na Gaeltachta.
On the question of the budget in general, we must accept that at the time of its introduction, the publicity campaign which was conducted very effectively by the Government gave the impression that the budget would be worthwhile for the nation as a whole but when the first items were teased out we found this was not the case. The recent debate in the House on another matter was introduced for the purpose of directing publicity away from the facts of the budget, facts that were being highlighted and which were gradually nullifying the great publicity the Government had given to the budget. For instance, in the area of agriculture we find that schemes, such as the farm modernisation scheme, the western drainage package, the lime subsidy scheme and AI subsidies have been ignored. The result of this is that in the areas in which there are predominantly small farmers and in the disadvantaged areas the structures that were being provided were removed and this in turn has led to a gradual talking away from the standard of living that has been achieved by our people since our accession to the EC.
For a number of years ACOT advisers have been advising small farmers to engage in milk production on the basis that this was an area in which a steady income could be provided for small farmers. Many of the western counties were slow in making progress in this area by comparison with, say, Kerry or other western areas. Many were merely at the point of embarking on this development when the milk levy was imposed and they are now in the position of not knowing what the future holds for them in terms of agriculture. They had incurred considerable expense in developing their farms, in the purchase of milking machines and so on. The confidence trick played on the farmers by way of the abandonment of the farm modernisation scheme has created many problems. The people concerned were caught doubly, so to speak. They were informed first that the scheme was being suspended but because the word "suspended" was used, they were under the impression that they were free to go ahead with their development work and that after a period the grants would become available again. However, they now find that the schemes are not being continued. We must always appreciate that agriculture is one of our main industries, an industry which helps to keep families together on the land. As a result of the policies of the Government in the matter of all these agricultural grants we find an uncertainty which we have not experienced since the fifties in relation to these people. Unfortunately, we are back to a stage where with the way social welfare is being assessed many of these people see no way out at the moment but to emigrate.
It is well to explain exactly what happened in relation to the small farmer's dole, as it is called, or the social welfare payments which were being made to small farmers since 1965. As a result of representations at that time the Minister of the day decided that a farmer would be assessed on his land valuation. That meant that no other means were calculated against a farmer except the farmer who might have money on deposit in a bank. A farmer was free to produce without being hindered in any way. As a result of going back to the position we now have, if two farmers are side by side and one decides to produce and get the most out of his land he will be penalised because the social welfare officer will say to him "You have X cows, therefore your social welfare payments will be cut". His neighbour who decides to sit back and do nothing will get the maximum benefit in social welfare payments.
People like Father McDyer in the late fifties and early sixties campaigned for the introduction of the small farmer's dole using the basis that was in operation until the present Minister for Social Welfare decided to abolish it in the 1983 budget. I am sure many Deputies from the western area will agree with me entirely when I say that small farmers are being harassed out of existence at present by the Department of Social Welfare and are finding it extremely difficult to live because their social welfare payments are being cut. The people who are really penalised are those who tried to do something for themselves, who tried to improve their land, who availed of the western drainage package and the lime subsidy, who tried to get a few extra acres and a few extra cows, who increased their production. A number of these people are beginning to ask themselves "Why should I be a fool? I will do as my neighbour does who is doing nothing; I will draw social welfare".
Let us consider a person on a small farm of 15 or 16 acres who was in receipt of, say, £40 per week and the social welfare officer tells him that he will not get it any more. He has that small income every week. Many people never regarded it as a social welfare payment. It was regarded as a small farm supplement to help the small farmer stay on his land. Such a farmer may have a young family of four or five children. He sends them out to school on the school bus. He must clothe them and they need pocket money. In some instances the medical card has been taken away along with the social welfare payments which mean that he must pay bus fares. He must pay examination fees.
As an example, recently a widow came to see me. She has three children doing the public examinations this year and she must pay £70 for these examinations. That is a terrible penalty on a widow. I have a letter here from the Minister for Education relating to the representations that I made for that woman and I will read a paragraph or two of it:
The Minister is aware that payment of fees can cause hardship for some families and for this reason she recently announced a scheme whereby half of the fees must be paid by 1 December with the remainder being paid by 15 February. Up to now all of the fees had to be paid by 1 December.
That is a great consolation for that poor widow. She still has to pay her £70. The Minister's letter continues:
The Minister has also decided that the scheme which she introduced last year whereby concessions could be made in cases of hardship, subject to a maximum total amount in the case of each school or vocational education committee, will apply again this year. Under this scheme an necessitous pupil is defined as a child from a home where genuine hardship exists because of unemployment, long illness of a parent, a large family with inadequate means, a one-parent family or other circumstances of domestic or financial hardship.
That is fine. That reads beautifully, but who is the person who must arbitrate in this? It is the principal of the school. Here again is a most unfair situation. He is in an impossible position when he makes a case for a parent and another parent says to him, "You did it for so and so. Why is my child not getting that concession?" The whole thing is ludicrous and is creating terrible problems for parents, for pupils and for the principals of schools. It all adds up to what I said earlier, that with all of these, the cutbacks, the various impositions that have been introduced since this Government took office, the security that people felt, particularly on small holdings in the west, and which they had since 1965 is gone by the wayside. Parents are very worried at present.
In my part of the country we were well accustomed to emigration in the past but it had stopped completely and the only people emigrating were a few who were maybe over 60 years of age and wanted to fill in the last few years in order to get their pensions at 65. No young people were going away. Now the people who have to go away have nowhere to go when they reach England. Twenty years ago they could go to any town in England, Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, London, and everywhere they went they could find an Irish community and people accepted them with open arms. That does not apply now. Irish people who have lived in England over the period and reared their families there are integrated into British society and they do not want to see people coming from Ireland. The recognised lodging and boarding houses that were there up to 1965 are no longer there, and because of recent events in England people coming fresh from Ireland are not welcome. The people who go away from here have no recognised call, so to speak, as they had in the past. They have nowhere to go where they feel really safe and confident, and the people who are already there have no welcome for them.
I meant to say something about some developments in education about which I am not entirely happy, but I will dispense with that because I am sure Deputy O'Rourke will deal adequately with that matter.
There is a big question mark over the issue of land development and the future of small farmers because of the abolition of the Land Commission. It is rather a pity no money has been provided for them at least to do some of the work they have sought to do during the years. I receive many representations regarding turbary rights. It is sad to think that where families live in the midst of acres of bogland that they do not have the right to divide that bog and to cut turf for themselves. When representations are made to the Land Commission they say they no longer have money to do this kind of work. The re-arrangement of holdings and the provision of relief for congests has gone by the board. The Land Commission had a special role in relation to protecting small farmers from the businessmen and the people who could buy land easily. However, that protection no longer exists and it is a further worry for small farmers when the occasional holding of land becomes available.
It is obvious there is no liaison whatever between the various Departments with regard to land development and the provision of turbary rights. In my constituency thousands of acres of bogland are being bought by the forestry division of the Department. While that in itself is good and there is some work provided in respect of forestry development, the other side of the story is that a group of village people cannot get the turbary rights they are seeking. There is no way they will get such rights in the future because of the schemes now being followed.
In view of the skills of small farmers and the knowledge regarding deep ploughing and so on, I sometimes wonder if it would be better economics to have some of the land drained, seeded and limed and extra acreage provided for the small farmers rather than planting trees. I do not know the answer. I should like to see a cost-benefit analysis carried out in relation to this matter to decide which course would be the best advantage of an area where there is bogland. My opinion is that the interests of the community in such an area would be better served by using the knowledge we have and the machinery that can be used and make more land available for small farmers rather than the blanket planting of trees. On that point I question the work of the forestry division when they are planting trees in that they do a blanket planting rather than following the tradition on the Continent. There trees are planted in belts and in between the belts there is an area that can be grazed. The fallen leaves fertilise the land and there is also shelter for the animals grazing the land. I wonder if we are following the right policy in that connection. With the benefits to be gained from the EC, some pilot schemes could be introduced to help in this kind of work. At the moment we seem to be carrying on in the old humdrum way, without using our imagination, to deal with developments of this kind.
We talk a lot about importing vegetables but that is all we do, both here and outside the House. We never get down to doing anything worthwhile and we do nothing to initiate programmes to encourage the farming community. The budget has not provided any money to help in this matter. We do not do anything worthwhile to stimulate interest in the growing of vegetables and the same applies to the presentation of our products. We just talk and talk about it, but do nothing. Questions are put to the Minister and we are given the usual reply setting out the value of potato imports and so on, but we do nothing to redress the situation and this at a time when we could provide extra jobs.
During a by-election in west Galway I visited an area where there were many small farmers, with farms of 35 acres or 40 acres. In that area, Abbeyknockmoy, I noticed that every farmer seemed to have a vegetable garden, something which was not part of the country scene. If ACOT were to introduce a scheme encouraging some farmers in that area to grow vegetables, even students, a co-operative could handle the vegetables, have them washed, cleaned and properly presented and the towns of Tuam and Galway could be serviced. We have to think along those lines. We must do something positive rather than just talking about the problem in the Dáil.
Last summer a young man in my constituency grew vegetables and sold them to the local shops. He earned about £600. He was a better young man for having done that. Had he gone to England or America to earn a few pounds his efforts would have been lauded. In my view, he should be encouraged for the example he set. We must encourage our young people to do things like that.
Various AnCO schemes are being run by the Department of Labour. It is great to see young people engaged in something worthwhile, but the problem I see with many of the AnCO schemes is that they do not lead to anything. A young man does one of these courses for six months, but what is there for him at the end of the day? A great deal of money is spent on these schemes. Various community halls have been built under the AnCO training schemes and I commend AnCO for that, but we should broaden our horizons and ensure that the courses will lead to something worthwhile. I am not sure that is being done at the moment and I am not sure that the money provided from the social fund is being spent to the best advantage.
One hears a great many complaints about the link training programmes. Young people who apply for these programmes must have been signing for unemployment assistance for six months before they are eligible. Young people complain when they see married women on these courses because these women are there merely to collect the £70 a week for five or six months. Young people cannot understand why they cannot go on these courses. I hope the Minister will look at this problem and see if something could be done to change the present position because people are going on these courses without anything worthwhile coming out from them. Some of these people are friends and supporters of mine but we have to be honest because these programmes are not of any great advantage to the young people, and they are the people we should be looking after.
Fisheries and fishery development are subjects I could discuss for a long time. The fishing industry has been a hit or miss operation down the years. Even though we had Bord Iascaigh Mhara their brief was too limited. They are nothing more than a lending agency who select suitable fishermen for loans to purchase boats. If a new harbour is to be provided BIM have no say in it. They were not involved in the training of young fishermen until a few years ago. I should like BIM's brief to be broadened so that they could coordinate the various strands of the fishing industry. We should try to run this industry successfully.
Each year the situation is getting more difficult for our fishermen. It is well known that the only people making money are those with 120 foot and bigger boats. They can fish anywhere. Some fishermen have been fishing north of Scotland recently and some are facing terrible problems at the moment. They are not able to make their repayments on their boats which cost a tremendous amount of money. The investment by the State has been substantial and it has been unfortunate that we have arrived at this situation.
One area we have neglected down the years is fisheries research. We never provided worthwhile sums for research, and this budget has not provided any money for this area either. Compare us with Iceland. They have 200 people employed full time on research. When the cod war with England broke out they had stacks of evidence which would stand up in any international court of law to prove they were right. We are talking about the Spaniards and the Portuguese fishing in our waters but we do not have one shred of scientific evidence to put on the table and say this is the position in relation to stocks of herring, cod and other species. We just go to Brussels to talk.
Not alone should we ensure that our stocks of fish are protected but we should direct our fishermen to use the fish stocks available to the best advantage. At a time when job creation is so important this natural resource should be tackled in an imaginative rather than a slipshod way. We see fishermen who started with small boats now have larger boats, they are prepared to spend millions to get into fishing in a big way. That should be an eye opener for everyone, particularly the State. There should be a co-ordinated effort in the provision of boats and the development of harbours and processing. This would ensure continuity of supply and would create many more jobs on land.
We do not think anything of the money we give to the IDA when they introduce a large company into this country. That is the accepted thing but here is a natural resource where we could spend many more millions of pounds to the advantage of the country, expanding our fisheries, providing more jobs and so on. We are not geared to gain the greatest advantage from Europe. Being classed as one of the poorer countries of the EC we could use the Regional Fund and the various agricultural funds to better effect.
