Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I support, at the very least, some type of recognition in the definition that there is a specific need for Gaeltacht settlement patterns to be recognised. By "recognised", I do not mean that they should be given any additional funding or recognition over and above anything else, unless the document is subsequently amended. It is saying that when we are addressing this issue in other amendments in the future, this is what we mean. That is the reason we are taking it here by itself. Then, in the document, we can tease out whether the description is the best form. There should be some type of recognition at an early stage because this issue is distinct in many ways. It is not distinct because there are no other parts of the country that do not have these clusters. It is a distinct issue because there is a different approach in Gaeltacht areas in terms of many other issues, not just in terms of protecting the environment but also protecting the language environment. That is why there should be some recognition in the definitions. We can come back to this later but it is important at this stage that we support Deputy O'Callaghan's proposal.