Irish in Gaeltacht is in ‘catastrophic’ decline
IRISH language campaigners have told Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien that radical new policies are required to reverse the ‘catastrophic’ decline of Irish speakers in key Gaeltacht areas.
Conradh na Gaeilge met the minister in the wake of a report that outlined the continued drop in the use of Irish in Gaeltacht areas across Ireland.
The most recent census shows a fall of 11.6% in the number of daily Irish language speakers in the Gaeltacht between 2011 and 2016, from 23,175 to 20,586.
The report revealed that housing provision has played a key role in this decline noting: ‘Currently many young people have to move out of the Gaeltacht as they are unable to buy a site or a home.’
Significantly, many cannot obtain planning permission on their land.
In response, Conradh na Gaeilge has called for a common development policy for every Gaeltacht area. This would lead to restrictions on the onward sale of houses as well as the creation of an ‘independent language assessment’ to make sure those moving to Gaeltacht areas can ‘understand and present coherent discourse and arguments’ beyond a beginners’ level. The measures are designed to achieve the goal of seeing Irish spoken by at least 90% of residents in housing estates.
In the Dáil last month, Sinn Féin TD Johnny Guirke asked Minister O’Brien if he will direct county councils containing Gaeltacht areas to prohibit the building of housing estates for English speakers in Irish-speaking areas.
Mr Guirke asked Mr O’Brien ‘if he will direct that each application for planning permission affecting land in the Gaeltacht be accompanied by a linguistic impact assessment’.
The TD also asked if Mr O’Brien would ‘direct that the percentage of holiday homes in an electoral division within a Gaeltacht area not exceed 10% of the housing stock’.
Mr O’Brien responded, saying that the ongoing implementation of the language planning process has a statutory footing under the Gaeltacht Act 2012.
‘This is the primary driver in support of the commitment to the achievement of the objectives in the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010 to 2030,’ he said.
Where there is a Gaeltacht area within the planning authority’s territory, the development plan must include provisions for ‘the protection of the linguistic heritage of the Gaeltacht’, he added.