John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Ring and Old Parish Gaeltacht is well represented here. The Comptroller and Auditor General has cousins in Ring, while I have cousins from Old Parish. My only question relates to a decision by the then Minister a number of years ago to end the permanent board relationship for smaller Gaeltachts. As I understand it, there is now a rotating system in place, with one permanent position rotating between the three smaller Gaeltachts, namely, the Ring and Old Parish, Ballyvourney and Meath Gaeltachts. At the time, the decision was very contentious and it still is within Fine Gael. I have asked the Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh, to review it. It is obviously a policy issue and something that was determined by the Minister at the time. I have always made the argument that the smaller Gaeltachts are the ones that needed representation more than the larger ones. It never made sense to me that the right to a permanent member on the board of Údaras would end the right of these three Gaeltachts. What do the witnesses think of that decision? Obviously, they do their jobs and probably compensate in many ways. Do they believe there is a lack of representation for the smaller Gaeltachts because of that decision? Has the board benefited in any way from it? Did the decision make sense? Should it be reviewed? I regularly receive representations from the Ring and Old Parish Gaeltacht, the most recent of which were related to access to high speed broadband for businesses in the area. I am concerned that the lack of a permanent board member for the smaller Gaeltachts which are already finding it difficult to keep the Irish language alive among the population will mean that it will go downhill. Do the witnesses have a view on this?