Vol. 19 No. 19
I should like an explanation of this section. The section states that
"the Minister for Finance may borrow from any person and the Bank of Ireland may advance to the Minister for Finance any sum or sums ...."
I should like to be enlightened as to why it is stated that the Minister may borrow "from any person" but that "the Bank of Ireland" may advance.
I suppose the explanation is that "person" includes a corporation.
The words, "the Minister for Finance may borrow," are self-explanatory. As to the words, "the Bank of Ireland may advance," the Bank of Ireland is the Government's banker, charged with the keeping of the Central Fund and the Exchequer Accounts. The section merely makes clear that the bank, as the Government's bankers, may make advances to them. I do not think that there is anything more recondite than that in the section. The section does not preclude the Minister from borrowing from any other source, if he wants to do so, but it makes clear that the Minister, notwithstanding anything else to the contrary, is legally entitled to get from the bank, if it wishes to give them, the sums of money necessary to enable him from time to time to discharge his liabilities.
What I cannot understand is why this particular bank is mentioned, unless there is some statutory obligation on the bank not to lend beyond a certain amount.
We used to have this question discussed every year during the first four or five years of the existence of the Seanad. The question was then dropped. The explanation is that the other banks have power to advance these moneys without special authorisation in this Bill. This section does not give any special privilege to the Bank of Ireland. It merely confers on the Bank of Ireland the power which other banks, as limited liability companies, already have.
I want to say a few words, additional to what has been said by other Senators, on the broadcasting question, but dealing with another point. I should like, when the improvement of the broadcasting service is being considered, to have the question of the service in the Irish language also brought under review. I did not possess a wireless set until three months ago and I had no idea of what the programmes from Dublin, Athlone and Cork were like until then. I agree with what the other Senators have said, and I also think that the service in the Irish language is extraordinarily bad. There is a British Regional Station situate in Cardiff, which serves a great part of the West of England—Devonshire and that portion of the country— and which is adjacent to that part of Wales in which the least Welsh is spoken. The service in Welsh from that station is incomparably superior to that in Irish in the Station here. It is not merely a question of the time devoted to Irish, but it is a question of the kind of stuff given out and the lack of variety. I do think that more time ought to be given to Irish. That time could, I think, be taken from the traditional fiddling, for which I never found anybody to say a good word. Apart from the question of time, there ought to be an attempt made to get material broadcast in Irish by people in whom listeners would be interested and who would broadcast interesting matter. I do not think that there is any use at all in having the same three or four persons broadcasting week after week. No matter how good a person may be, he cannot expect to maintain interest week after week. Besides, some of the people doing this work—I confess I was so tired that I did not listen very often—would undertake to lecture on any subject under the sun. It would not be an easy task to get suitable Irish material. The task would be much more difficult than it is for the Cardiff station to get material in Welsh, and I noticed in one of these broadcasting publications that the Cardiff people found great difficulty in keeping up a series of entertainments in Welsh which would be easily available in English.
It would be much more difficult to get it in Irish and I think the cost would be higher. It would be necessary to have some special officer in the Station devoted to that work entirely because some of the people that I would like to hear speak or lecture in Irish might be difficult to get—they certainly would not apply for an engagement—they would have to be approached and persuaded. I also think that on the question of Irish language lessons the Station should not waste time on them. There are so many ways by which people can get Irish lessons that the station should not have lessons at all. There is no reason why people like President de Valera could not speak on certain subjects occasionally in Irish and there are other people of different political views who could be induced also to do it. It might be possible to get Professor MacNeill to speak, or when the novel about the Blasket Islands was in everybody's mouth, somebody like An Seabhac who knew the islands, could tell his experiences of them. I do not want to go on mentioning names but if somebody intelligently and energetically went about it instead of mechanically filling time it would be a vast improvement in the station. I do not want to say that everything in the Irish part of the programme is uninteresting but what I have heard is uninteresting. It has no variety in it and it is not what we ought to expect. Though I was not in the habit of listening before the time of the present Government I actually wrote a letter to the Broadcasting Director making certain suggestions. I got an acknowledgment and a promise that an attempt would be made to carry them out, but nothing was done. It would certainly take some trouble, I admit, because the performers would have to be induced to come to the station. It would be worth it, for all our work in the schools will be futile unless we back it up outside. I could suggest various ways in which it could be backed up. There ought to be every week and every day at the three stations a certain amount of matter put on in which the public would be interested. I notice the Cardiff Station gives five minutes of news in Welsh. I think it might be well worth while giving five minutes' news in Irish, and it ought not to be merely a translation of something already given in English because there is nothing more irritating than having something in English repeated in Irish. I want to put it through the Minister to the proper people that there is no aspect of the Broadcasting Station that needs attention more than the question of dealing with the Irish language. I think at present that it is really disgraceful.
