Ms Caroline Phelan:

The housing issue is incredibly sensitive and the challenge with housing is universal, irrespective of one's linguistic capacity, and that is an issue. We have a unique position with regard to the Gaeltacht in that we are an urban authority and do not have legislative discretion to ring-fence specific areas, housing or aspects such as that, specifically for Irish speakers, because we would be challenged with other groups which would claim a right to live in the city and be cross-subsidised in that manner as well.

We alluded to the aspect on land use. We provide for land-use zoning for housing and it is open for all. It is not a case of what one would have in a rural area where there are restrictive policies on housing. That may be a challenge for Irish speakers in the Gaeltacht, because of the limitations and restrictive policies by virtue of which there are few opportunities for acquiring housing.

If Deputy Calleary is asking about our ideas on expanding the language in a social, education and community context, we suggest we continue what we are doing, which we do quite well, especially with regard to the educational institutes. We enabled both Gaelscoil Mhic Amhlaigh and Coláiste na Coiribe to find schools and good sites that accommodate a school population of up to 650, in the case of Coláiste na Coiribe, and the same with Gaelscoil Mhic Amhlaigh in terms of allowing for the extension of that school.

We went further than we would have on a lot of occasions in the sense that we went as far as the material contravention process, which is over and above the standard planning consent process. That school is not actually located in the Gaeltacht. It is located outside of it but it has a catchment area in the Gaeltacht, so that is a recognition of the bilingual aspect.

We would welcome more grants and an increase in the number of grants available for protected structures and things that truly reflect the cultural aspect of the city. We have 700 protected structures in the city but the number of conservation grants we get for their maintenance is quite limited.

I think we are doing a very good job with the placenames' committee of the council, on which our colleague Ms Coleman sits. That endeavour has been going on since 1992 and would have spearheaded other such initiatives throughout the country. As a result of that, 90% of residential developments within the city have an address solely in Irish. That is commendable from the planning side as well.

We are doing the maximum we can within the body of the land use plan but there are limitations. We go outside that with regard to our partnership with Gaillimh le Gaeilge in particular, and many sections in the council, including our own, have very good relationships with Gaillimh le Gaeilge. The city council itself subsidises elements of that organisation, and as a result of the recent plan, it has now attracted a significant amount of money to engineer its actions. What we can do with respect to that is enable it as much as possible through the planning process. In the city there are mediums for sustaining and encouraging the extension of the language, including cultural and educational aspects, as well as through the community element with regard to provision of facilities or subsidies so they can sustain themselves.

With regard to institutions such as Áras na nGael and An Taibhdhearc and maintaining their existing buildings, it is great they have buildings with historic status as it sends a message about the cultural aspect and are in appropriate locations. However, they need to be modernised and brought up to standard with regard to digital communication and the capacity to teach Irish on a digital platform. There are other innovative ways technology can accelerate or broaden that process.

Investment in infrastructure may be an oblique way of supporting the Gaeltacht. This has been vindicated in the work done by Gaillimh le Gaeilge in its document "The economic benefits associated with the Irish language which accrue to Galway City and to the Galway Gaeltacht". That demonstrates that a lot of the services and infrastructure, particularly with regard to transport, which would allow people to have a reasonable, sociable commute to the city and do whatever business they like, are a regional provision. Many of the services we provide cannot be provided in a lower density population, but if people can access them quickly and if they are housed in appropriate institutions, then that of itself would reciprocally sustain the Gaeltacht area and allow people the liberty to live within either the city Gaeltacht or the county Gaeltacht, which, as has been noted, is the largest Irish-language speaking place in the country. Other than that I do not have any brilliant ideas, I am afraid.