Junior Gaeltacht minister ‘not fluent’ in irish

The new Junior Minister with responsibility for the Gaeltacht will take a refresher course in the Irish language after it emerged his proficiency in the language was not enough to conduct an interview on TG4.

The Donegal North West TD, Joe McHugh has replaced the fluent speaker, Dinny McGinley who was one of three Fine Gael TDs demoted from the junior minister ranks to the back-benches as part of a reshuffle.

The Fianna Fáil TD for Galway West, Éamon Ó Cuív accused the Government of letting down the Gaeltacht communities with the appointment, and said having fluent Irish should be an absolute prerequisite for a minister with responsibility for the language.