(Foireann Gaeltachta The Journal a chuir an scéal seo ar fáil. Tá leagan as Gaeilge anseo.)

THE GAELTACHT COMMUNITY will have to wait until the first half of 2027 before a national planning statement for the Gaeltacht is published, it has been stated in the Housing Plan published this morning.

While planning guidelines for the Gaeltacht have been promised frequently by various housing and Gaeltacht ministers since 2022, with commitments that they were to be published “within a few weeks” or “before Christmas” or “early in the New Year”, a timeline for the publication of the national planning statement has now been given in an appendix to the housing plan published today and accordingly the statement will not be available until the first half of 2027.

The Journal has sought clarity from the relevant Government departments as to whether a national planning statement for the Gaeltacht is the same as the promised planning guidelines.

It had been hoped that the housing plan published today would include a specific reference to the need to provide housing for Irish speakers in the Gaeltacht and although there were references, the lack of urgency regarding action in the Gaeltacht in the context of a recognised language crisis in relation to the speaking of Irish in those communities is a source of disappointment for Gaeltacht activists.

Donncha Ó hÉallaithe, chairman of Bánú, the campaign for housing in the Gaeltacht, made this known while giving his initial response to the document which was announced at a press event held by the Minister for Housing, James Browne, together with the Taoiseach, Mícheál Martin, and the Tánaiste, Simon Harris, at a construction site this morning.

The press statement states, in English:

National Planning Statements for rural housing and housing in Gaeltacht areas to provide clarity and consistency in the planning system.

In the full document available on the Government website, there is no specific reference to this commitment other than the reference in the Appendix on page 104. In that appendix, item 8.7 states that this responsibility will be the responsibility of the Department of Housing, Heritage and Local Government and will not be fulfilled until the first half of 2027.

In the press release this morning, it was also indicated that Údarás na Gaeltachta would have a certain role in this matter. It was stated that:

Leveraging Údarás na Gaeltachta, working with Uisce Éireann and local authorities, to support the building of homes for Irish speaking communities.

This is referred to in paragraph 8.6 of the appendix on page 103 of the plan and in that reference it is stated that the responsibility for implementing this policy will lie with Údarás na Gaeltachta, the Department of Housing, local authorities and Irish Water and that the target for this work to commence is the second half of 2026.

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According to Donncha Ó hÉallaithe from the Gaeltacht housing lobby group, Bánú,  “not much progress has been made in terms of providing housing for Irish speakers in the Gaeltacht in this plan”.

The only thing that is likely is that he recognises that Údarás na Gaeltachta could have a role but in reality we are disappointed that that role has not yet been worked out by the government by the various government departments and that they are delaying it

Ó hÉallaithe admitted that he was taken aback by the acknowledgement in the document that the first half of 2027 is the target for the publication of the national planning statement for the Gaeltacht.

“I don’t understand why on earth we have to wait until 2027 for a national planning statement on housing in the Gaeltacht. That statement should be put together as a matter of urgency.”We are still waiting for Planning Guidelines that were promised 3 years ago.”

Clarity on this timeline has been sought from the Department of Housing.

The Journal’s Gaeltacht initiative is supported by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme