The differences of opinion emerged when Dara Calleary, Minister for Rural, Community and Gaeltacht Development, was interviewed on RTÉ Ráidió na Gaeltachta on this morning’s Adhmaidin when he referred to “planning guidelines” that would not now be “available before the end of the year”.

Gaeltacht planning guidelines that would advise local authorities on the need to take language considerations into account when considering planning applications in Gaeltacht communities have been promised by Gaeltacht and Housing ministers frequently since 2022.

It was put to the minister during the interview that he had promised that the Gaeltacht planning guidelines would be available by the Autumn and/or the end of the year.

In the meantime, however, the legislation that would allow the Minister for Housing to issue planning guidelines on a specific subject such as the Gaeltacht has been repealed.

The document, Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-30, which was published (in English only)  on Thursday made no reference to Gaeltacht planning guidelines but did commit to publishing a national planning statement on the Gaeltacht in the first half of 2027.

In response to a query from The Journal, a statement from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage said that planning guidelines on specific matters were previously issued by ministers under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 but that section had been repealed from 5 October 2025, “as the planning system changes to align with the Planning and Development Act 2024″.

The statement from the Department of Housing said that Section 25 of the new Act provided a new way for the Minister to provide policy and guidance on planning and this was the national planning statement.

“This section came into force on 2 October 2025 and as a result planning policies and advice from the Minister will be issued to planning authorities through a National Planning Statement,” the statement said.

The statement from the Department of Housing referred to the commitment in the new housing plan to issue a “National Planning Statement” in the first half of 2027.

In his interview with Adhmhaidin, Calleary continued to refer to planning guidelines rather than the national statements to be provided under the new legislation. He indicated that he was of the view that “planning guidelines would not be published before the end of the year” and blamed the lack of resources in the Department of Housing as those officials were working on the new housing plan.

I very much understand the impatience, I very much understand that it is frustrating for people, I very much understand that people are trying to get on with their lives and how important housing is to people.

“That is why we will be keeping the maximum pressure on the Minister for Housing to be able to publish the guidelines and publish the strategy.”

Calleary said that he had met with the chief executive of Údarás na Gaeltachta immediately after the guidelines were published on Thursday to discuss the role of that organisation and that he was also meeting with Irish Water to discuss matters with them.

“Without Údarás, without Irish Water, and without them being capable and up and running on the ground, the guidelines will not be able to work.

“I’m putting everything together, I’m working with the Minister for Housing and the team in the Department of Gaeltacht are working very hard on this but we also need to work with the Minister for Housing and the Minister for Housing understands how important it is and it’s clear from what’s been published in the new strategy at this point.”

The Journal asked the minister for clarification after the interview this morning regarding the contrasting view he had given when speaking compared to the statement from the Department of Housing.

The minister was said to be unavailable for an interview and a statement was issued indicating that the minister was very keen for a “statement” to be issued ahead of the timeline that had been outlined in the housing plan this week.

“Minister Calleary is in regular contact with Minister Browne regarding the publication of the National Planning Statements (the Planning Guidelines as they were) in relation to Gaeltacht areas.

“Minister Calleary has stressed the importance of putting additional resources towards this process.”

In his interview on Adhmhaidin, Calleary also indicated that the Department was not prepared to hold elections for the Údarás na Gaeltachta board on the same day as the by-election for Galway West which is necessitated by the election of Catherine Connolly as President.

“At this point the Údarás board is working very hard, particularly on housing matters. I have great confidence in the board we have at this point. I don’t think, to be honest, that we will be ready to hold an election in six months. That is the timeline we have.”

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