Members of Gaeltacht community groups, language activists and students demonstrated at several Government and council offices in the Gaeltacht on Monday in protest at an ongoing housing crisis that has led to depopulation and the weakening of Irish as a community language in some cases, they said.
Organised by Tinteán, a national campaign launched at Oireachtas na Samhna last November to highlight the crisis and its impact on the language, pickets were placed at the Department of the Gaeltacht offices in Gaoth Dobhair, Co Donegal, Galway County Council, and at Údarás na Gaeltachta offices in the Múscraí Gaeltacht in Co Cork.
Protesters cited delays and absence of progress by the Department of Housing and Government in tackling the crisis.
They say the proliferation of Airbnb-type rentals has put the home ownership and rental market beyond the reach of many Gaeltacht residents. When homes come on the market, they are sold as holiday properties at prices beyond locals.
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“We hear plenty of talk about language planning but if there are no people in the Gaeltacht to speak the language, what is the point of discussing language planning? We are facing a crisis now and the State must urgently address this issue,” said Seanán Mac Aoidh, manager of Gaeltacht co-operative Pobal Eascarrach in Donegal.
“We have put forward clear proposals that would resolve many of the challenges and all that is needed to implement them is the will and commitment – two things we have not received from the Government when it comes to Gaeltacht housing for a very, very long time. If we are to secure the future of the Gaeltacht, urgent action is needed,” he added.
Protesters are seeking stronger support and building powers for the Gaeltacht development agency Údarás na Gaeltachta, strong guidelines concerning the statutory duty of county councils to preserve Irish as a community language in the Gaeltacht and the provision of social and affordable housing in those areas.
Tinteán is also calling for a Gaeltacht population and housing strategy to be drawn up for each Gaeltacht Language Planning Area “with clear, measurable targets” to ensure the sustainable development of Gaeltacht communities and a supply of housing to support that growth.
In Galway, a letter was handed into the county council by activist Donncha Ó hÉallaithe on behalf of the Connemara housing group Bánú. In the letter, the group seek a meeting with chief executive Liam Conneally, with Michael Owens the council’s director of housing and Liam Halloran, director of planning.
It stated that the council has a statutory duty under planning legislation to protect the linguistic and cultural heritage of the Gaeltacht, but that the current housing and planning policies meant the “opposite is happening”.
The letter also called for a review of the Galway County Development Plan 2022-2028 and for amendments to be made to ensure the fulfilment of statutory duties regarding the protection of the linguistic heritage of the Gaeltacht. It also called for a review of the Housing Development Action Plan 2022-2026, to include the provision of social and affordable housing in the housing plan for Gaeltacht communities from Spiddal west to Carna, including the Aran Islands.
