Irish Language Committee expresses dissatisfaction with Taoiseach declining to attend meeting

The Committee wrote to the Taoiseach on 8 October and 14 November 2016 inviting him to attend a meeting and received a response from his Private Secretary dated 17 November 2016, in which he informed the Standing Joint Committee that 'the Taoiseach is unable to accept the invitation to address the Standing Joint Committee on 29 November 2016’.

The Standing Joint Committee considered this correspondence at its meeting on 29 November 2016 and noted the comments of the Taoiseach’s Private Secretary in that correspondence concerning the remit of the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

Chairperson of the Committee Catherine Connolly TD and the Committee expressed disappointment with the reply received and agreed to extend another invitation to the Taoiseach, in his role as Chairperson of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, to address the Standing Joint Committee on the subject ‘The targets in the 20 Year Strategy on the Irish Language 2010 – 2030 that have been reached and that are in operation as of 31 October 2016’.

In addition to this, the Standing Joint Committee noted that it had written to a number of Ministers concerning various issues and that it had not yet received a response from some of them. Again, the Chairperson expressed her disappointment in this regard but agreed that a second invitation should be issued.

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