Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 390 outlines a specific Gaeltacht housing and population strategy as necessary to tackle the Gaeltacht housing emergency, and that population housing objectives for the Gaeltacht need to be identified to ensure that these communities thrive. It is to insert an obligation to prepare Gaeltacht housing population development strategies, where the planning authority's functional area includes at least one of either a limistéar pleanála teanga Gaeltachta or a baile seirbhíse Gaeltachta in the Gaeltacht. Without repeating and labouring the points, meeting housing needs in Gaeltacht communities has not worked to date. There are some very extreme effects of that failure. Having specific housing and population development strategies, as suggested in the amendment, is necessary so that those needs are properly planned for. The kind of ad hoc approach that has taken to date has been a complete failure. This needs to be well planned out. That is what the amendment seeks to achieve.