Gaeltacht Affairs Minister Joe McHugh claims the fact that he can't speak fluent Irish is making people think about the language.
Opposition leaders have accused the Taoiseach of insulting Gaeltacht residents by appointing both a Minister and a Junior Minister who can't speak their native language.
Enda Kenny said Junior Minister Joe McHugh "has the language inside him", and the Minister himself said his appointment has raised awareness about Irish.
"There's a barrier that people are faced with in relation to wanting, loving the Irish - the
for the langu - the ," he said."We have to get people thinking the language, and in the last two days, people have been
– they've been thinking about it."