Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will speak to amendments Nos 59, 62 and 74. Amendment No. 62 would ensure the protection and promotion of the use of the Irish language in the Gaeltacht and beyond would be central to the national planning framework as an objective and when identifying national strategic development requirements. Conradh na Gaelige makes the point that the Minister’s guidelines in section 28 of the existing Act are strong in relation to the Gaeltacht but that they are not being enforced in the development plans. There are significant differences in policy between the various local authorities across the State in relation to housing in our Gaeltacht communities. Including this in the national planning framework would place more of an onus on local authorities to have greater regard for the Gaeltacht and for Irish language objectives.

Amendment No. 74 is based on a proposal from Conradh na Gaelige to include a specific provision to have regard to the “linguistic and cultural heritage of Irish language and Gaeltacht communities including the promotion of Irish as the community language ... by supporting the implementation of language plans” for Gaeltacht areas and service towns and líonraí Gaeilge.

Amendment No. 59 has the simple purpose of giving the Houses of the Oireachtas a say. Any future revision of a statutory plan should have the approval of the Oireachtas. Our local development plans have the approval of local democratically elected members. Elected Members of this House would have to give approval to statutory plans.