Vol. 501 No. 1
160 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands the proposals, if any, she has to change the boundaries of the Gaeltacht prior to the Údarás na Gaeltachta elections in June 1999; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5413/99]
As part of the ongoing work of the Department and particularly in light of the recently published census data on the use of the Irish language in the Gaeltacht, I am considering how best to develop the Gaeltacht and, in particular, to promote the Irish language as a spoken medium in the long-term. In this context, the question of the Gaeltacht boundaries as presently defined will be examined.
It is not proposed to change the boundaries of the Gaeltacht prior to the next elections to Údarás na Gaeltachta due to the short time span in question and the fact that the Gaeltacht boundaries are defined under the 1956 Gaeltacht Acts, not the Údarás na Gaeltachta Act.
