2026-07-14

16. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the role his Department will play in amending and finalising the recently published draft national planning statement for rural and Gaeltacht housing. [53184/26]

I put this question in English but tá roinnt de a bhaineann le cúrsaí Gaeltachta. Is féidir an dá theanga a úsáid, má tá an tAire sásta leis sin. It is about the role the Minister’s Department will play in amending and finalising the recently published draft national planning statement for rural and Gaeltacht housing. I know this has been discussed several times here this evening and the Minister and I have discussed it as well. This is a document that relates to the core mission of the Minister’s Department so I want to know precisely what role his Department will play in those aspects.

I thank the Deputy for his ongoing work on this. It is not back-of-the-envelope stuff. His inputs and those of Deputy Ó Snodaigh are always considered. As he knows, the primary responsibility lies with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The draft statement is, in my view, one that strengthens the planning system’s support for the Irish language and Gaeltacht areas, making it clearer and more consistent by setting out the language criteria which may be submitted with applications for new single rural dwellings and requiring a proportion of multi-unit developments to be lived in by Irish speakers. Importantly, the policy also recognises that Gaeltacht communities share a specific culture, language and identity. It introduces the idea of inter-Gaeltacht recognition, meaning Irish speakers who live and work in one Gaeltacht can use that experience and time to show they may meet local need requirements in another Gaeltacht. One of the key benefits will be the introduction of a new policy approach applied consistently across the country, providing more certainty for people wishing to build a new house in a rural area and the avoidance of prescriptive local policies that see different standards applied between neighbouring counties and, indeed, sometimes within a county. Currently, there is no consistent method for local planning authorities when developers are reserving a percentage of the housing development for Irish speakers. This method of using the percentage of speakers outside the education system plus 10%, as proposed, will be based on the current linguistic composition of the area rather than setting a uniform national figure across all Gaeltacht areas. This is about giving certainty both to people who wish to remain living in or return to their rural communities as well as planners while supporting a vibrant sustainable rural Ireland. There will be discussions with interested parties in the coming weeks. In that context, a meeting is scheduled between my officials and Conradh na Gaelige later in the month. I look forward to engaging with the Deputy and Deputy Ó Snodaigh in this space and we will engage very directly with the Minister, Deputy Browne, and the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, on this over the coming months.

When the document was published last week, we were all taken aback. Commentators, Opposition politicians and campaign groups and people working in the space were disappointed both on the rural housing piece and that of Gaeltacht housing. Not only was it underwhelming and the cúrsaí Gaeltachta deeply disappointing but it looked like something that had been utterly rushed and that had been put together very quickly without a lot of thought. It has taken very little from the consultation, submissions and recommendations of various Oireachtas committees and discussions here in this House. I feel it was a rushed job by the Department of housing - the Minister may disagree; he may not be at liberty to agree with me publicly – which did not take into account the good work and fair policies the Minister’s Department has been promulgating over the past while. On rural housing, as part of our analysis we spoke to analysts, engineers, architects, planners, merchants, builders and auctioneers and they do not see this would dramatically increase the delivery of housing and they do not think this would lead to a liberalisation of policy. They just do not see that happening. That leaves many communities in the lurch and facing the demographic crises that have been mentioned in this House already this evening.

I reject the Deputy's analysis of the draft plan on the Gaeltacht. We worked very closely with the Department of housing on it to try to get a balance. The important thing is to get a balance in Gaeltacht areas between those with Gaeilge, those who have Irish and use it as a daily language, and new people moving into it, but also those from a Gaeltacht area who do not have Irish, because they equally have a right to stay in their place. Second, I was anxious that we got a balance in terms of not allowing further holiday home development. I want permanent residences for families to grow, live and work through Irish and then drive the demand for Irish schools, Irish education, Irish cultural facilities and so on. I am happy to work with Deputy McGuinness and Deputy Ó Snodaigh in particular and colleagues across the Gaeltacht side of it to address some of the Deputy’s feedback, although we will not incorporate it all. There is an environmental streaming process under way. I will share the information involved with that with the Deputy after this session.

I dtaobh chúrsaí Gaeltachta, ní aontaím leis an Aire in aon chor go bhfuil dearcadh nó aighneachtaí na ndreamanna éagsúla atá ag obair sa spás seo iniata leis an gcáipéis seo. Is léir go ndearna an Roinn agus an bheirt Airí sa Roinn tithíochta neamhaird air sin. Iarrfaidh mé ar an Aire féachaint air seo, gur úsáideadh staitisticí ó dhaonáireamh 2016 sa cháipéis chun an argóint seo a chruthú mar gheall ar líon na gcainteoirí Gaelainne in ionad na staitisticí is déanaí. Molaim don Aire féachaint siar air. Dá mba rud é go raibh siad ag éisteacht leis an Aire nó lena Roinn, ní dóigh liom go dtarlódh a leithéid de rud. Tá an-chuid fadhbanna. Bhí cruinniú agam in Indreabhán i gConamara oíche aréir. Tá daoine an-fheargach mar gheall air seo. Ní fhéadfainn a rá go bhfuil sé mar gheall ar cúpla sonra a athrú anseo agus ansiúd. Tá daoine feargach mar gheall air seo. An rud a bhí ag eascairt as seo ná nach bhfuil sé chun cabhrú le daoine as na ceantair sin atá ag iarraidh maireachtáil sa Ghaeltacht agus clann a thógáil trí mheán na Gaelainne tithe a thógaint. Ní fheictear go bhfuil sé sin ann. Molaim don Aire comhairliúchán poiblí a dhéanamh - ceann gairid ach an comhairliúchán sin a dhéanamh agus brú a chur ar an Aire tithíochta a leithéid a dhéanamh mar níl sé maith go leor a chluasa a dhúnadh agus gan éisteacht a thabhairt don phobal.

Scrúdaíomar na figiúirí. Tá na coinníollacha nua bunaithe ar census 2022, cé go bhfuil deacrachtaí ansin. Mar a dúradh an oíche a d'fhoilsíomar an dréachtráiteas, táim oscailte go feedback. Nuair atá fearg ann, oibrím leis an bhfearg nuair a thagann rudaí as an bhfearg sin. Táim sásta obair leis an Teachta. Mar a dúirt mé, tá oifigigh as mo Roinn, a chuir an-obair isteach leis na hoifigigh sa Roinn tithíochta, chun cruinniú a bheith acu le Conradh na Gaeilge roimh dheireadh na míosa seo. Bhí siad chun é a dhéanamh an tseachtain seo caite, ach ní raibh an conradh in ann é a dhéanamh. Táim sásta, mar a dúirt mé, suí síos le haon Teachta a bhfuil suim acu ní hamháin ráiteas a fhoilsiú ach obair air seo. Táim sásta é sin a dhéanamh agus obair leis an Aire, an Teachta Browne. Beimid in ann obair leis an gcoiste agus leis an Teachta Moynihan, agus, tar éis na hoibre sin, leis an Aire, an Teachta Browne. Tá suim agam obair orthu. Sin an tsuim is mó atá agam.

Glacaim leis sin.

We move on to Question No. 19, also in the name of Deputy McGuinness.

Tá na Teachtaí an-ghnóthach.

Tá muid an-ghnóthach, an triúr againn. Leanfaimid ar aghaidh pé scéal é.