Oireachtas Irish Language Committee chair traded to Fianna Fáil due to lack of Irish proficiency (thejournal.ie)

• Catherine Connolly chaired the Irish Language Committee until her election as President in October 2025.
• The technical group had no member with sufficient Irish to chair the committee.
• Fianna Fáil's Naoise Ó Cearúil will assume the chair.
• The technical group will chair a new committee on women and gender-based violence.
• Ruth Coppinger (Solidarity) is expected to chair the women's committee.

"The Dáil technical group of which President Catherine Connolly was a member has traded the chair of the Oireachtas Irish Language Committee to Fianna Fáil because no member has sufficient Irish. The position was vacated when Connolly was elected President. Fianna Fáil's Naoise Ó Cearúil will take the chair. In return, the technical group will chair the next committee on women and gender-based violence, likely to be taken by Ruth Coppinger."