Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 March 2026
610. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht to introduce housing incentives for Irish language speakers to live in Gaeltacht regions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18109/26]
View answerThe Deputy should be aware that the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the local authorities are primarily responsible for planning and housing matters in Gaeltacht areas and that both my own Department and Údarás na Gaeltachta have only a secondary role in this context. That said, the provision of housing for those living and working in Gaeltacht areas is an extremely important issue for me as Minister.
Over the past number of years there has been a great deal of ongoing contact between my own Department and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage regarding planning and the provision of housing in Gaeltacht areas. The Government's recently published housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, commits to publishing a National Planning Statement for the Gaeltacht in the first half of 2027 and to examining the feasibility of Údarás na Gaeltachta, working with Uisce Éireann and local authorities, to support housing provision for Irish speaking communities.
On a related matter, figures provided by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and further statistics available from the CSO show positive outcomes in the areas of overall planning applications in counties in which Gaeltacht areas are situated and in relation to the uptake of the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant in specific Gaeltacht areas. As regards the latter, there were 302 applications approved under the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant Scheme in 2024/2025 in specific Gaeltacht areas. The breakdown is as follows:
CORK 15
DONEGAL 152
GALWAY 70
KERRY 32
MAYO 27
MEATH 1
WATERFORD 5
Comparing successful planning applications in counties in which there are Gaeltacht areas for the first three quarters of 2024 and 2025 (final figures for 2025 are not yet available), it is apparent that there is progress in this space also. Kerry for example saw an increase of 18 successful planning applications going from 48 to 66 in that period. Cork saw an increase of 21, while Donegal saw an increase of 23.
The Deputy may be aware that my Department previously administered housing schemes under the Housing (Gaeltacht) Acts but that these schemes were suspended a number of years ago. The Government has since established a number of new schemes under which significantly more generous grants are available than those previously available under the Gaeltacht Housing Acts. On this basis, my Department does not intend to re-introduce the grant schemes that existed under the Gaeltacht Housing Acts.
