On 15 July 2014, he was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht with responsibility for Gaeltacht Affairs and Natural Resources. His appointment was met with criticism as his knowledge of the Irish language was at a basic level, although he subsequently received praise for his efforts to improve his language skills to the point where he could conduct lengthy interviews in the language. RTÉ Radio 1 created the radio documentary "Fine Gaeilgeoir," narrated and produced by Máire Treasa Ní Cheallaigh, following McHugh's efforts to improve his Irish over the course of a year. The appointment of a non-Irish speaker to a Gaeltacht ministry has since become known as a "Joe McHugh moment", with Shane Ross having written of having his own in May 2016.