Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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3437. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if he met with protesters who marched in Dublin over the issue of housing in the Gaeltacht; and his solutions to provide affordable housing to young Irish speakers in Irish speaking areas. [40796/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I am acutely aware of the housing supply issues across the country, and that Gaeltacht communities are no different in this regard. Access to affordable, appropriate housing is central to the future of the Irish language as a community language, but also to developing enterprise and creating employment in Gaeltacht areas.

I have had the opportunity, along with my colleague Minister James Browne T.D, to meet with representatives from Gaeltacht housing groups, BÁNÚ and Tinteán, in order to hear their concerns first-hand.

I have also held meetings with Údáras na Gaeltachta to discuss the work of the organisation in terms of supporting enterprise and employment, but also regarding how increased housing supply would be an advantage to advancing the work of the organisation. In this context, a provision has been included in the Údarás na Gaeltachta (Amendment) Bill 2024, currently before the Houses, allowing An tÚdarás to dispose of land from its property portfolio for the development of housing in the Gaeltacht. In terms of supporting the provision of housing in Gaeltacht areas, I see An tÚdarás as having a secondary role in this regard.

Responsibility falls to local authorities to implement responsive planning and development policies in Gaeltacht areas. Accordingly, I recently met with Local Government Management Agency members from areas with Gaeltacht regions in their jurisdictions and have urged them to integrate the specific needs of the Gaeltacht into County Development Plans.

In addition to the aforementioned, my officials are also actively engaging with their counterparts in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in order to assist that Department in developing a set of Planning Guidelines for the Gaeltacht.