Mr. Michael Lynch:

I will respond to Deputy Daly’s queries. On the issue of persons from the Gaeltacht obtaining planning permission in the Gaeltacht, we would point out that our policies support local members of the community receiving planning permission within their communities. There is no disadvantage to being from the Gaeltacht when applying for permission there; it is to the contrary. When we made our development plan and rural housing policies our line Department referred to them as being exemplary in giving effect to rural housing policies. In that regard we have sought to bring those forward into our draft development plan, which will be completed in 2022, until such time as rural housing policy guidelines are updated, which we believe is imminent. Within settlements there is no impediment on people from the Gaeltacht receiving planning permission and again our policies are based on supporting people living in their local communities, be that in a rural area or within settlements generally.

Cúil Aodha was specifically mentioned. In broad terms we are rationalising our settlement structure within the county, which has resulted in a number of settlements, not just in the Gaeltacht but countywide, having their development boundaries removed and Cúil Aodha was one of those. We have had discussions with our elected members about including a list of communities that have had their development boundaries removed, recognising that they continue to be communities and an important part of our county and they will still be recognised by the county council and eligible for supports where appropriate. The advantage in the delivery of housing in the Gaeltacht for people from the Gaeltacht will be that the removal of the boundary will mean that only people from that local community could obtain planning permission there. That is significant in terms of sustaining the local community and there could be a benefit there. We worked with the local community when we commissioned the Múscraí heritage plan and there is significant discussion of each individual community and the overall issues of heritage and linguistics within the Múscraí Gaeltacht in that heritage plan. If there are any holes in the countywide development plan we have sought to address those by commissioning this plan, which is the first of its kind.