Madam, - I don't know if the Minister for the Gaeltacht feels aggrieved at the coverage given to his partial brief for the Irish language. But it would not be surprising if he did.
The story of documents which must be translated and printed at great cost, but which "nobody reads" recurs every few months. The Minister patiently clarifies the matter, pointing out that the very few documents which much be translated are available free of charge on the internet, and are downloaded by the thousand. But this is apparently ignored.
Then, the entire budget of the Department for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs is treated as "money spent on Irish", whereas in fact a very small percentage of it is.
The Minister is at once accused of doing too little, and too much - frequently by the same people. Last week in the Dáil we had the priceless gem of the spokesperson on Irish for the Labour Party in the same speech accusing the Minister of doing too little, being too despotic, and then in the next breath asking him radically to reform Irish grammar, as though the Irish language were Klingon or Esperanto which could be modified at the whim of a ministerially appointed committee.
I do not envy the Minister his job. But I believe he is doing a good job. Far more has been achieved for Irish speakers during his tenure as Minister of State and as Minister than in the previous history of the State. His slow and cautious approach is bearing fruit.
Maith thú, a Aire. - Is mise,
AONGHUS Ó HALMHAIN, Baile an Chinnéidigh, Co Chill Mhantáin.