Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. It is difficult to reply to questions within one minute. I will ask again about the monitoring committee. When will it be set up? Who will be on it? I also ask about the Irish language. There is only one page on the Irish language in an 80-page document and that page refers to implementing the Official Languages Act. There is nothing else about the Irish language. Some 79% of the Gaeltacht islands, which form the vast majority of the islands, are Irish speaking. There is absolutely no strategy or action for the Irish language.

A health strategy was published in 2017. It referred to what was needed for health services on the islands. In 2023, we are struggling, despite the Minister's assistance, to provide, for example, a health centre on Inishbofin. That project has not progressed at all because two authorities have not got their acts together. Does the Minister have any intention of basing this policy on legislation? That has been done in Scotland and it has reversed its population decline.

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