Gaeltacht Policy
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-14
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Dara Calleary (FF), Mayo

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.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-14/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-14