Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I am referring to the strategy for the Irish language. The Minister is getting a report done for which he famously set up a Cabinet sub-committee. How many times has that sub-committee met? I know it met once because I have raised the matter here several times but how many times has it met since? When will that report be published? It has cost €800,000 in consultants' fees. Does the Minister not know enough people who speak the Irish language? Why does he need to spend taxpayers' money on consultants? We all know the problems around the language. There are three Gaeltachts in my constituency and Irish is spoken in only one part of one of them, Ceathrú Thaigdhe, as the Minister's recent report has shown. I support the Irish language but while the Minister, the Government and the Taoiseach talk a good game about it, this strategy was supposed to have been published, and up and running. When will it be released and when will we know about its findings?

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