Responsibility for the Gaeltacht in Government has been transferred back to a Fianna Fáil Minister as no Fine Gael Minister was willing, or sufficiently proficient in the language, to take on the portfolio.
The Government confirmed that Thomas Byrne, the Minister of State for Sport, will take over the role, which was previously a Fine Gael responsibility. It formed part of the remit of Patrick O’Donovan when he was the junior minister for the Office of Public Works.
There was some confusion on Wednesday afternoon following the Cabinet meeting as to the identity of the new Minister. Some sources on the Fine Gael side were of the view that the Chief Whip, Hildegarde Naughton, would take on that responsibility and had been offered the role.
However, the Government spokesman later clarified that Mr Byrne would in fact become the Minister of State for the Gaeltacht. The Meath East TD was educated through Irish, speaks fluently, and is educating his own children through Irish. He also has connections with the Ráth Chairn Gaeltacht in Co Meath.
The Gaeltacht came to be within the remit of Fine Gael after the change of the role of taoiseach between both parties in late 2022. In the first period of government, Fianna Fáil chief whip Jack Chambers had the responsibility but his successor as Chief Whip, Ms Naughton, did not take on the role. Instead it went to Mr O’Donovan.
Sources told The Irish Times that the Gaeltacht portfolio posed a problem for Fine Gael Ministers because of insufficient command of the language, or an unwillingness to take on the job.
Fianna Fáil welcomed the return of the responsibility to the party.
When contacted, the vice-chair of the Coiste na Gaeilge in the Oireachtas, Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee, said she was delighted with Mr Byrne’s appointment.
“He has a deep knowledge of the language, minority language issues, Irish-medium education and the opportunities and challenges faced by Gaeltacht communities. He’s a regular contributor on Irish language media and when he was minister for European affairs he frequently delivered his statements and speeches in Irish when in Brussels,” said Ms Clifford-Lee.
“Thomas is committed and hard-working, and I look forward to engaging with him on a wide range of issues we are working on.”
The Gaeltacht portfolio has posed a headache for Fine Gael taoisigh in the past. When Donegal TD Joe McHugh was appointed by Enda Kenny as minister of State for the Gaeltacht in 2014, he was criticised for having only a basic command of the language. However, Mr McHugh subsequently attained a good fluency during his term as minister having attended several intensive courses and employing a driver who spoke to him only in Irish.
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