Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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79. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to detail his formal engagements with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage; and the outcomes of those engagements. [56317/25]

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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The rural housing crisis is the biggest single issue impacting rural communities and the long-term sustainability of rural Ireland. Previously, I asked the Minister about his engagement with the Minister for housing on this issue. To be fair, it was a number of months ago, and at that point the Minister had not been in the job all that long. Meetings had not taken place, although he indicated that engagement would follow. We also discussed the need for housing to be the cornerstone of the new rural development policy, the successor to the Our Rural Future scheme, which had very little to say about housing. Will the Minister update the House on that engagement, confirm whether a cross-departmental working group on rural housing has been established and outline what formal engagements he has had with the Minister for housing in a formal sense about the issue of rural housing?

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I agree with the Deputy about the importance of housing. My Department works closely with colleagues in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage across a range of areas. Officials in both Departments are in regular contact about a number of areas that cut into housing, including town centre first, local economic and community planning, planning for and the provision of housing for Irish speakers in Gaeltacht areas, input to the successor to the Our Rural Future policy, the local democracy task force, Dormant Account Fund measures and emergency response work, particularly around storms.

I have had three formal meetings with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne, since my appointment, the most recent of which was yesterday. We have been discussing a number of key issues. A particular focus and priority for me is the planning and provision of housing for Irish speakers in Gaeltacht areas and to ensure that there will be provision for this in the forthcoming housing plan. We have been discussing how we engage on that. We have discussed the development of our new rural development policy, which there will be questions about later. We will be moving into the final stage of consultation on this in the coming weeks and I will engage with the House on that. We have also had engagement on emergency storm responses, the Údaras na Gaeltachta (Amendment) Bill 2024 and the role of that body.

Official in both Departments continue to engage on the Gaeltacht planning guidelines. The Minister and I have asked for this work to be accelerated. I want the guidelines to be published as soon as possible. We are also ensuring that the Department of housing is central in both the plan and the actions of the new Our Rural Future policy. We continue to work with the Department in its work on storm response. We have a number of proposals to bring forward in that space.

I will have further meetings with the Minister and he has also joined me, since the Deputy and I last discussed this, in meetings with BÁNÚ agus Tintéan last June. We had a very good engagement. Bhí crinniú an-láidir againn, idir mé féin, an tAire, an Teachta Browne agus BÁNÚ agus Tintéan faoi chursaí pleanála sa Gaeltacht.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Is iontach é sin a cloisteáil, i ndáiríre, mar bhí an bhuairt ann nach raibh cainteanna ag dul ar aghaidh. Mar sin, cuirim fáilte roimh sin, ar a laghad. It is great that those engagements have taken place and I thank the Minister of State for his answer and for detailing the level of engagement and the issues that have been discussed by the Minister with the Department of housing. There are two big pieces of work under way in the Minister's Department in the successor to Our Rural Future and the Government's housing plan. Forgive me for being cynical, but I think most people would have a fairly sceptical approach to these plans, particularly on the housing side, given the failure to action any of the proposals contained in them. It is really important that those two plans would, at the very least, be conversant with each other and would have joint sets of objectives, key metrics and key actions that have very specific timelines to them. This would ensure that the two Ministers and their officials can keep tabs on it and that those of us on this side of the House can ensure progress is happening. These are existential issues both for na ceantair Gaeltachta and for so many rural communities across this country.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I would encourage the Deputy to put his cynicism to one side and look at budget 2026. It contains a record allocation of over €9 billion for housing capital investment. This has been a major issue that has come back to us in the consultation on Our Rural Future. The vacant property refurbishment grant provided by the Department of housing is really important in rural areas. A sum of €165 million has been allocated for the vacant property refurbishment grant for 2026.

Generally, in terms of our work on Our Rural Future, there was a 7% increase in the population of highly rural, remote areas between 2011 and 2022. There are serious disparities within that and I am trying to get in under that bonnet to ensure we assist those areas. Planning permissions have been granted for almost 6,000 one-off homes, on average, each year since 2020 and 90% of those are in rural settings. We will continue to work with the Minister, Deputy Browne, particularly on the necessary infrastructure for house building, such as water and sewerage. Is iad cursaí uisce agus cúrsaí séarachais go háirithe sna ceantair Gaeltachta na dúshláin gur gá duinn a réiteach le haghaidh infreastruchtúir. We will work closely with the Minister on that, the planning guidelines and the other issues I have discussed.

Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Chun mo cheart a thabhairt dom féin, níl sé i mo nádúr a bheith soiniciúil ach tá sé deacair gan a bheith i bhfianaise an méid nár thit amach thar na blianta. Mar is eol don Aire, tá géarchéim tithíochta sna ceantair Ghaeltachta agus níor sholáthar an buiséad, in ainneoin an méid atá ráite ag an Aire anseo, an maoiniú breise nó na cumhachtaí breise atá riachtanach chun dul i ngleic leis an bhfadhb. Feictear dúinn nach bhfuil na cumhachtaí ná na hacmhainní ag an údarás chun tithe sóisialta, tithe inacmhainne, tithe i suíomhanna seirbhíse inacmhainne nó tithe príobháideacha a thógáil inár gceantair Ghaeltachta nó ar fud fad tuath na hÉireann.

In ainneoin an mhéid a fógraíodh an tseachtain seo caite, ní fheictear dúinn go bhfuil na hacmhainní cuí, na cumhachtaí cuí nó an toil pholaitiúil ann chun dul i ngleic leis. Beidh le feiscint. Guím gach rath ar an saothar ach fós féin níl na treoirlínte pleanála Gaeltachta ann. Cé go bhfuil sé casta, is rud bunúsach é atá á dhéanamh le blianta anois agus tá éileamh mór ag teacht ón bpobal faoi sin. Níl sé i mo nádúr a bheith soiniciúil ach tá sé an-deacair gan a bheith.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Táim ag iarraidh obair leis an Teachta. Tá an t-airgead ann. Tá na figiúirí ann ón CSO a léiríonn go bhfuil ardú mór sna ceadúnais tithíochta, tithe aonair go háirithe. Táimid ag obair leis na húdaráis áitiúla. Bhí cruinniú agam freisin le príomhfheidhmeannaigh na n-údarás áitiúil a bhfuil Gaeltacht ann chun plé leis an dream sin faoi na rudaí is tábhachtaí. Leag siad béim ar an tábhacht a bhaineann le cúrsaí infreastruchtúir. Sin an fáth gur chuireamar béim sa phlean forbartha náisiúnta go mbeidh Uisce Éireann in ann obair ní hamháin ar chathracha agus ar bhailte móra ach ar cheantair tuaithe agus Gaeltachta freisin. Beidh mé ag cur brú.

Tá a fhios agam ón phlé a bhí agam leis an Aire go dtuigeann sé cé chomh tábhachtach is atá an t-infreastruchtúr sin. Tá samplaí agus scéalta agam faoi dhaoine atá ag iarraidh tithe a thógáil i sráidbhaile Gaeltachta nach bhfuil séarachas ann. Táimid ag díriú ar fhadhbanna cosúil leis sin agus na treoirlínte pleanála.