Gaeltacht minister defends level of Irish proficiency
The newly appointment Minister for Gaeltacht Affairs is defending his appointment following the cabinet reshuffle.
Joe McHugh freely admits he is not a fluent Irish speaker but he'll fight "fight tooth and nail" to do the right thing by his constituents.
The Donegal North East TD says he was honest with the Taoiseach, who was happy enough to appoint him even though his Irish is rusty:
"The Taoiseach asked me straight out how was my Irish?" Minister McHugh said.
"I said 'look Taoiseach, it's not great.
"And then we talked about it, we talked about my comprehension and understanding. I explained that I can understand when people are talking to me but it's the confidence about being able to deliver it orally."
