Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to be given the chance to speak during Seachtain na Gaeilge despite my shortcomings with our native language. I was not as brave as Deputy Ward today. It is something I do regret and I hope this will be the last time there will be a Social Democrat here who will not be talking in their native tongue this week and during the Dáil term.

I will put forward the views of Irish advocates, the voices close to the beating heart of language and those who live it every single day whom we contacted during the past week to ask how we can best express their passions and frustrations about the language. They pointed out that, last week, Airbnb advertised “stays to celebrate the Irish heritage” on its website and advertised listings in Gaeltacht areas from Donegal to Kerry. Many Irish speakers and community leaders found these advertisements nothing short of insulting. It highlighted to them Airbnb’s complete ignorance and lack of care about the enormous disparity between the numbers of properties available for holiday rentals compared with long-term lets available in areas crucial to the survival of the Irish language.

Many who grew up in Gaeltacht areas and are looking to start their own lives outside the family home are unable to find a place to rent in the communities where they are from let alone find a place to buy. One significant cause for this is that homes built for long-term use are being removed from supply and advertised on platforms such as Airbnb as short-term and holiday rental accommodation. Although not the only culprit, Airbnb is the most egregious. It is central to the problems it causes and the erosion of the language that is a consequence. Bánú, an organisation advocating for housing policy reform, has been urging the State to intervene in Gaeltacht areas to facilitate families to work, live and thrive there. The Irish language is exposed to further danger if those Irish-speaking residents in the Gaeltacht areas who want their families to continue living there are no longer able to do so. Recent reports from RTÉ painted a dire picture of housing in Gaeltacht areas. Only four rental properties were available between Bearna and Carna in County Galway, in stark contrast to the 197 listings on Airbnb in those same communities. We are making a Disneyland of the Gaeltacht areas. Planning delays have worsened the situation, with significant obstacles and complications in obtaining permission for constructing new builds in the Gaeltacht taking more than two years to solve. Conradh na Gaelige has asked for a comprehensive national housing policy tailored to counter the decline in population trends in Gaeltacht regions nationwide. It stressed the urgency needed to avoid further decline in Irish-speaking areas. For the health of the Irish language and those who are from and who live in Gaeltacht areas, it is critical there is action from the Department of housing as soon as possible.

There is an array of other problems including the lack of critical infrastructure for building houses and maintaining water and sewerage services in these areas. However, Conradh na Gaelige has been waiting for the promised Gaeltacht planning guidelines for more than two years. These would provide an important context to the Planning Bill which is currently being debated. Without it we cannot know what has been missed in the Bill as it stands. Many of the recommendations from stakeholders are simply not included in what I believe is the third biggest Bill in the history of the State.

On education, the programme for Government promised a policy on Irish from preschool to third level. Several years on, there is still no sign of this. Despite a target to increase the number of pupils attending Irish medium education to 20% within 20 years, instead the numbers have fallen year after year since 2019 to 6.11%. This needs to be urgently and carefully addressed.

I wish to focus on those with intellectual disabilities and special needs in the wake of the gutless reduction in SET hours announced by the Department of Education. A recent DCU study has shown that a lack of SET hours for Irish learning affects those children the most due to communication and language difficulties. Removing SET hours and the criterion of complex needs from the allocation will leave some of these children behind, removing from them their right to learn a native language at a level equal to others. Compassion, common sense and some urgency needs to be demonstrated in this reassessment the rules.

Every year during my time in the Dáil, during Seachtain na Gaeilge, the Dublin 8 community has been outside Leinster House campaigning to have a Gaelscoil in Dublin 8. That is not my area but I hear their passion every single year. It really should not have to be that hard.

Turning closer to home, Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire, the Gaelscoil in my community, suffered an horrific experience last year. I acknowledge the staff there who have done the most incredible job in fostering and maintaining the Irish language in inner-city Dublin for decades. This is not only despite what happened last October but also despite the fact they have had to operate in a building which was unsuitable for purpose for the past two decades. Nonetheless, in that building the language thrives and inner-city parents and parents from all over Dublin make that journey. It is incredible to watch and it drives in me a desire to learn the language, and I certainly will try.

See this speech in context