Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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61. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her plans for the Gibbstown Gaeltacht in County Meath. [37409/16]

Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the Gaeltacht Act 2012 gives statutory effect to the language planning process, under which language plans may be prepared at community level in areas capable of being recognised under the Act as Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas, Gaeltacht Service Towns or Irish Language Networks. In the case of all Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas, including Ráth Chairn and Baile Ghib in Co. Meath, organisations will be given up to 2 years from the date on which Údar ás na Gaeltachta selects them, to submit a language plan to me, as Minister, for approval in line with the language planning criteria prescribed under section 12 of the Act.

Once a plan has been approved under the Act, organisations will be given 7 years to implement the approved language plans with the assistance of Údarás na Gaeltachta. My Department will periodically review the implementation of the plans during that period.

In accordance with the provisions of section 7(3) of the Act, a notice was published in September 2015 in respect of the Gaeltacht Language Planning Area of Ráth Chairn agus Baile Ghib,effectively kick-starting the language planning process in the Meath Gaeltacht. It is anticipated that a language plan for Ráth Chairn agus Baile Ghibwill be submitted for approval by September 2017.

In the meantime, as is the case with all other Gaeltacht areas, my Department, in the context of its own remit, and acting in concert with Údarás na Gaeltachta and other relevant stakeholders, will continue to advance the interests of Gaeltacht na Mí by means of the range of schemes, programmes and initiatives currently being deployed to foster language and economic development in the Gaeltacht.