Airbnb and other short-term lets are putting the future of the Gaeltacht at risk, Conradh na Gaeilge has warned.
The organisation, along with groups such as Tinteán, CATU and Bánú, have organised a protest outside Leinster House, seeking to underline the threat the housing crisis poses to the Gaeltacht.
They want Údarás na Gaeltachta to be given powers over housing, funding for housing in the Gaeltachtaí to be increased and for the Government to come up with a national planning statement for the Gaeltacht.
Finally, they also want a specific housing strategy for each Gaeltacht area in the country.
On Newstalk Breakfast, Conradh na Gaeilge spokesperson John Prendergast said if the Gaeltacht is to survive, the shortage of housing needs to be taken seriously.
“These four simple demands are just what the Gaeltacht needs to survive in terms of the language being a community language, the language spoken within homes and intergenerational transition from parents to children,” he explained.
“The difficulties experienced by people in Gaeltacht areas in getting planning permission to build their own homes, few houses on long-term rents.”
Mr Prendergast added that there is a “good chance” the Government will agree to give Údarás na Gaeltachta powers over housing.
“There are a few people working on the topic of housing in the Gaeltacht within Údarás na Gaeltachta at the moment,” he said.
“So, it seems like it would be a logical step considering Údarás na Gaeltachta is the state agency responsible for the cultural, economic and social development of the Gaeltacht.”
A sign in County Donegal. Picture by: Alamy.com. However, he warned that without powers over housing, the future of the Gaeltacht looks increasingly bleak.
“Without housing being on that portfolio as well, it'll be very challenging as we've seen all across the Gaeltacht,” he continued.
“Because there are language plans being implemented up and down the country in different Gaeltacht areas.
“And the idea is to increase the amount of Irish speakers there, but people are finding it more and more difficult to work with communities.
“Because of the disproportionate amount of summer lets, Airbnbs - that kind of thing.”
Research published in 2021 by researchers from Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick found that only 23% of families in the Gaeltacht are raising their children through Irish.
Irish speaking families formed a majority in only two out of the 26 language planning areas in the Gaeltacht.
Main image: A split of a sign of the Gaeltacht and Airbnb. Pictures by: Alamy.com.
