Mr. Kevin Kelly:

Tá brón orm nach bhfuil an ráiteas tosaigh i nGaeilge ach beidh cóip ar fáil i nGaeilge. I am the chief executive of Mayo County Council and I am joined by Ms Catherine McConnell, director of services who has responsibility for planning; and Mr. Tom Gilligan, director of services who has responsibility for housing. I thank to the committee for the opportunity to participate in this discussion on housing and physical planning in Gaeltacht areas. Mayo is one of only seven counties in the State with a designated Gaeltacht and we are proud of our language and Gaeltacht traditions and of the people who have kept these alive. Members will no doubt be aware that the Mayo Gaeltacht, like some other Gaeltacht areas, has experienced the impact of emigration and population decline over the centuries.

Our submission outlines the Gaeltacht in Mayo in terms of location, extent and population trends, as well as highlighting relevant policies of Mayo County Council that impact on the Gaeltacht as set out in the current and draft Mayo county development plans and the local economic and community plan, together with council housing policy and delivery in Gaeltacht areas. We include maps which show the population density in the county as well as the population change from 1996 to 2016. As is evident from these maps, the Gaeltacht is largely characterised by low population density, which is no doubt impacted by the nature of the terrain in the Gaeltacht areas, with uplands and mountainous and poor quality land and areas that are geographically distant and poorly connected to the key centres of population.

The county development plan is a land-use plan which sets out a vision and an overall strategy for the proper planning and sustainable development of the county for a six-year period. The policies and objectives directly relating to the Gaeltacht include the objective:

To strengthen the unique linguistic and cultural heritage of Gaeltacht Mhaigh Éo, by supporting and facilitating improved physical, social and economic infrastructure at appropriate locations throughout the Gaeltacht areas and [requiring] a Language Impact Statement in respect of significant developments within or close to Gaeltacht areas, or where deemed appropriate, to determine their impact on the usage of Irish as the community language.

The general policies and objectives that apply throughout the county also apply to Gaeltacht areas, such as those relating to new rural residential developments, environmentally sensitive designations, scenic routes and sensitive landscapes. The county development plan contains planning policies in relation to rural areas under strong urban pressure in Mayo but our Gaeltacht areas are not affected by this designation or any of the restrictions therein. In the current draft county development plan, no restrictions apply to the development of housing in the Mayo Gaeltacht, other than those that apply universally due to environmental, landscape protection, road safety or normal planning constraints. However, as previously set out, the Gaeltacht areas tend to coincide with areas of high landscape amenity, poorer ground conditions and environmental constraints and it is these factors that have predominantly influenced the outcome of applications for development in Gaeltacht areas of the county.

The Mayo local economic and community plan includes objectives such as:

To maintain and support the communities of Gaeltacht Mhaigh Éo and Mayo’s inhabited islands by facilitating sustainable social and economic development through the provision of infrastructure (social and physical), housing and services and the need to protect the cultural and natural heritage of the Gaeltacht and the Islands where it can be demonstrated that there will be no significant adverse effects on the environment, particularly on the Natura 2000 network.

Mayo County Council has 272 social housing units in the Gaeltacht, of which 13 are demountable dwellings and a further 266 people have expressed a preference for housing in Gaeltacht areas. Mayo County Council has recently built 13 social housing units in its Gaeltacht areas and 24 units are being progressed in the social housing programme for 2022 to 2023. I thank members again for the invitation to appear before the committee and we look forward to providing any further assistance that we can.