DONEGAL may lose vital Gaeltacht status in some areas under plans agreed by the Cabinet yesterday, donegaldaily.com has learned.
It is understood the Government approved a 20-year strategy for the Irish language at that meeting.
Fianna Fail is determined the pass the legislation before a General Election and will follow some of the recommendations from an Oireachtas sub-committee and Irish language groups.
New laws will see strict new guidelines to be introduced to define Gaeltacht areas and will be based on daily useage of the language. Areas deemed to have too much English in day-to-day life could lose Gaeltacht status.
This will be of particular concern in Gaoth Dobhair where Irish language campaigners claim English is becoming too common.
Údarás na Gaeltachta will be changed to Údarás na Gaeilge, but the main strategy will be to increase Irish use outside current Gaeltacht regions – ensuring that there are 250,000 speakers in Ireland by 2030.
