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

THE specific reference in the housing plan announced yesterday  to Údarás na Gaeltachta and a possible role in extending its network of waste water treatment plants to allow housing be built in Gaeltacht areas has been welcomed by the development agency’s chief executive, Tomás Ó Síocháin.

The document released on Thursday referred to the Authority’s expertise in providing water treatment plants to service the business parks they have built across the Gaeltacht areas.

The document recommends the possibility of Údarás na Gaeltachta working with Irish Water and local authorities in Gaeltacht areas. The document states that this work will commence in the second half of 2026.

Housing is high on the agenda of Gaeltacht activists and Conradh na Gaeilge who are demanding that Government take action to address the housing crisis which is leaving Gaeltacht couples without permanent accommodation to raise their families and thus endangering the future of the Gaeltacht. 

That the Government should address this as a matter of urgency was among the demands of a crowd of over 25,000 who took part in the CEARTA protest in Dublin in September.

Speaking to Adhmhaidin on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta today, Ó Síocháin said that the agency had been working with local authorities for some time and that progress was being made on a number of issues.

“We particularly welcome what we proposed some time ago in terms of the opportunities that exist, where there is wastewater and water treatment infrastructure to use that and expand that infrastructure and that is what is proposed here.

“That will give us an opportunity to significantly strengthen the work that we are doing with the local authorities.”

Ó Síocháin also highlighted what was said in the plan that it was “recognised that the Gaeltacht is a special case and the Irish language is a special case in the Gaeltacht”.

“It is extremely important that this recognition has been received and that we can now act accordingly.”

In a statement issued by the Authority, it was stated that the agency had approved a grant of €274,000 to support the development of language-based housing in Corca Dhuibhne, houses that would be available to families as long as they were willing to provide accommodation for students attending Irish language courses in the area.

Reference was also made to the support being given by the Authority for the post of ‘Derelict Houses Coordinator’. The position is filled by a person appointed by Mayo County Council but that employee has responsibility for addressing the problem of derelict homes across the Gaeltacht areas of seven counties, Mayo, Galway, Donegal, Meath, Waterford, Cork and Kerry.

A spokesperson for the Authority also said the following in the statement:

“We welcome Minister Calleary’s (Minister for the Gaeltacht) statement that he is examining the issue of housing in the Gaeltacht and that he will make a decision before the end of the year.”

The Journal has sought clarification from the Department of Housing and the Department of the Gaeltacht on an issue that came to the fore when the housing plan was published yesterday.

Gaeltacht planning guidelines have been sought and promised since 2022 and it has been promised many times in the period since that they would be available soon.

People were confused when the new housing plan announced that a ‘National Planning Statement’ for the Gaeltacht would be published in two years, in 2027. Whether this was the same as the Gaeltacht planning guidelines was the question sent to both Departments for clarification.

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In response from the Department of Rural, Community and Gaeltacht Development, it was stated that this question should be directed to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. 

In its response, issued on Friday evening, a statement from the Department of Housing confirmed that the national planning statement in relation to the Gaeltacht was the same thing as the previously promised guidelines.  The national planning statement would be issued in the first half of 2027, it was stated in the statement, referring to the action point in the housing plan. 

This issue was also highlighted in the statement issued by Conradh na Gaeilge on the publication of the Government’s housing plan.

Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin, the president of Conradh na Gaeilge, said it was important that the State was “formally acknowledging that access to a mix of suitable housing is a fundamental requirement for the Gaeltacht to be sustainable”.

Mac Giolla Bhéin called this unprecedented acknowledgement a “significant step”.

“However, recognition alone is not enough to solve the housing crisis,” he said.

“If families cannot build or buy homes in their own areas, there will be no Gaeltacht. And if there is no Gaeltacht, Irish will no longer be a community language.”

Written by Concubhar Ó Liatháin and posted on TheJournal.ie