THE NEW MINISTER of State for Gaeltacht Affairs has called on the public to join him on his “journey” as he attempts to bring his standard of the Irish language up to scratch.

Joe McHugh came under fire recently over his level of proficiency in the language, and his appointment was branded as a ‘backwards step’.

The Junior Minister is now calling for a national debate on the value the public places on the Irish language, and also on how we can use it more in everyday life.

“My situation reflects the reality of many people in this country – someone who loves the Irish language but did not use the skills I was taught in school outside of the school setting,” McHugh said in a statement.

I intend to use my position to encourage the public to join me on my journey to “relearn” the language, to use the Irish they already have and to improve their skills

He said that he is working himself to improve his standard of Irish and will be documenting his progress on social media.

McHugh hopes this will act as a “catalyst” that will encourage others to use the language more frequently.

Of course, the statement he issued was also in Irish.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has also moved to address the matter, requesting that McHugh do a bit of homework:

Watch: Here’s how the new Gaeltacht minister got on answering a question as Gaeilge >

Opinion: Older people and Gaeilgeoirí are right to be indignant – this Cabinet doesn’t care about them >