Fianna Fail say they are "shocked and disappointed" that the newly-appointed Minister for Gaeltacht Affairs is not a fluent Irish speaker.

Éamon Ó Cuív says while there is no question that Minister Joe McHugh "is a person of talent, decency and integrity", he is "genuinely shocked and very disappointed that the Taoiseach has handed responsibility for protection and promotion of our language to someone who is unable to carry out his duties through the medium of Irish".

The Donegal North-East deputy was chosen earlier today as the new Minister for Gaeltacht Affairs, as part of the the Junior Ministerial line up.

Mr Ó Cuív also claims the government downgraded the position after the last general election, showing "disregard for Irish language policy" which has now been "conclusively proven by the reshuffle with neither senior nor junior Minster at the Department able to conduct official business in Irish".

He also believes that having fluent Irish "should be an absolute prerequisite for a Minister with responsibility for the language".

The Galway-West TD says this move equates to "a slap in the face for the thousands of Irish speakers in the country and particularly for Gaeltacht communities".

The Taoiseach Enda Kenny says Minister McHugh will take a "refresher course" in Irish.