Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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11. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will set out the priorities of her Department for the coming 12 months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31212/14]

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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It would be presumptuous of me to ask the Minister to set out her priorities for the next 12 months given that she has just taken office but it would be useful for the House to get a sense at this early stage of her personal priorities for the period ahead and what she regards as the key areas of arts and heritage with which she would like to be identified in the coming years.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department is committed to implementing the priorities set out in the programme for Government and in the Statement of Government Priorities 2014-2016, which was published by the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste on 11 July. These will form the underlying basis of the work of my Department for the next 12 months and for the remainder of this Government's term of office.

The statement of Government priorities identifies six key priorities for the coming period. My Department will have a particular contribution to make in relation to three of these priorities, as follows: strengthening the domestic economy and prioritising new jobs for the unemployed; rebuilding trust in politics and public institutions; and protecting and enhancing peace in Northern Ireland. It will remain a key objective for my Department to maximise the economic and employment creation potential of the arts, heritage and Gaeltacht sectors. In this context, I will continue to develop synergies between the arts, cultural, heritage and Gaeltacht sectors, most notably in the area of tourism product development and cultural tourism.

The statement of Government priorities makes specific reference to the co-ordination and organisation of events and commemorations related to Ireland's path to independence that are respectful to the different traditions and communities on the island of Ireland. In that context, I will continue to advance plans for the programme of commemorative events in the context of the Decade of Centenaries 2012-22, including the centenary of the Easter Rising in 2016.

I also look forward to promoting North-South co-operation in the context of the remit of my Department and, in particular, through the work of the North-South implementation bodies that my Department co-funds, namely, Waterways Ireland and An Foras Teanga. Other key issues in the context of the programme for Government will be the continuation of efforts to implement with stakeholders the national peatlands strategy and the 20 year strategy for the Irish language. I am very new in the job but I will be drawing up my personal priorities for the Department and I will be happy to outline them for the House at a later stage.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome what the Minister has said and cannot disagree with the majority of the priorities set out. However, as Deputy Tóibín and others have pointed out, there is growing public concern about the Government's commitment to Straitéis 20 Bliain don Ghaeilge. There is real concern that the Government has no enthusiasm for implementing the strategy and many aspects are falling behind in their delivery. I was impressed by the fact that 10,000 people took to the streets of Dublin last February to protest about the status of the language and what they regard as the Government's lack of commitment to it. We have two new brooms in the Department. I do not question their commitment but at the end of the day they will be judged by what they do. Can we see some renewed vigour on the part of the Minister and the Minister of State in regard to the stratéis?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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We are committed to the Irish language. As I noted in several interviews, like many others I learned school Irish but unfortunately if one does not use it, one loses it. My parliamentary assistant, who is in his early 20s, was awarded student of the year for his Irish. He told me this morning that he is one of many who does not use it and then loses it. There is a huge cohort of people like me and we need to bring these people in by reintroducing the Irish language so that we use it more regularly. Confidence is important. Many of us know Irish but we do not have the confidence to stand up and speak it. I am totally committed to the protection and further advancement of the Irish language so that it is used much more widely in everyday contexts.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Ba mhaith liom comhghairdeas a dhéanamh leis an Aire agus leis an Aire Stáit ar a gceapadh. Tá géarchéim láithreach acu. Bhí tosaíocht ag an Roinn i gcomhthéacs seirbhísí ar nós seirbhísí farantóireachta go dtí na hoileáin. Le gairid, d'fhógair Island Ferries go bhfuil sé i gceist acu deireadh a chur leis an tseirbhís atá acu go hInis Mór ar 1 Samhain seo chugainn. Ina dhiaidh sin, ní bheidh aon seirbhís báid go hInis Mór - dubh, bán ná riabhach. An bhfuil sé mar thosaíocht ag an Aire agus an Aire Stáit déanamh cinnte de go mbeidh seirbhís báid go hInis Mór ó 1 Samhain amach?

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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We have a difficulty in that the main question was to the Minister but Deputy Ó Cuív's supplementary question was addressed to the Minister of State.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister can answer the question.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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We are committed to the services to Inis Mór and they will be examined in the context of the budget.