Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 April 2026
924. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht his plans to support housing for families in Gaeltacht areas in County Meath, namely, Baile Ghib; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28085/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy may wish to note that in general housing policy and provision falls under the remit of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the local authorities.
That said, as Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, the provision of housing for those living and working in Gaeltacht areas is extremely important to me. In this context, Minister Browne and I have been working closely on this with our officials and have made considerable progress in developing a National Planning Statement for housing in Gaeltacht areas. It is intended that the National Planning Statement for the Gaeltacht will be published by Minister Browne's Department in the first half of 2027.
The recently published Government Housing Plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities, also commits to examining the feasibility of Údarás na Gaeltachta working with Uisce Éireann and the local authorities to support housing construction for Irish speaking communities. With this in mind, I recently facilitated a meeting between Údarás na Gaeltachta and Uisce Éireann with a view to ensuring that progress is made in fulfilling this commitment without delay. An tÚdarás has also indicated that the issue of housing is a permanent item on its board agenda.
It should be noted that based on overall figures local authority figures, an average of 90% of planning applications for housing in the Gaeltacht were approved in 2025, thus demonstrating that applicants do not generally experience difficulties in obtaining planning permission in the Gaeltacht, including in County Meath. In addition, over €3.1m was awarded nationally to Gaeltacht applicants under the Vacant Property Refurbishment Scheme during 2024 and 2025, demonstrating that the Gaeltacht community is making great use of this scheme.
