Gaeltacht communities right across Ireland are protesting over a housing crisis that has forced many native Irish speakers to relocate.
Protests took place this week in Connemara, Cork, Waterford and Donegal, with locals describing what is happening as a form of “forced displacement.” Groups including Banú and Misneach have warned that the Gaeltacht housing shortages, rigid planning rules and runaway rents are eroding the fabric of these communities.
In August, a TG4 documentary investigating the housing crisis in the Gaeltacht found that just 1,017 houses were listed on Airbnb for short-term rent in Ireland’s Irish-speaking regions last summer, compared to just 10 houses being available to rent long-term.
The programme ‘Níl Aon Tinteán’ explored how an increase in the number of short-term lets, along with the proliferation of holiday homes, has resulted in a shortage of long-term rental accommodation in the Gaeltacht, forcing locals to move elsewhere.
According to the investigative programme, the Kerry Gaeltacht regions had the highest number of short-term lets available at 543, however not a single house listed on Daft.ie for long-term rent. Meanwhile, Donegal’s Gaeltacht had 225 houses listed on Airbnb compared to just three houses in the same region on Daft.ie for long-term rent. Connemara had 221 available Airbnb properties, but only four houses available for long-term rent.
Protests have been organised by the national campaign Tinteán this week (meaning ‘housing’ or ‘having a roof over your head as Gaelige). The public awareness campaign was launched at Oireachtas na Samhna last November to highlight the crisis and its impact on the language, with pickets placed at the Department of the Gaeltacht offices in Gaoth Dobhair, Co Donegal, Galway County Council, and at Údarás na Gaeltachta offices in the Múscraí Gaeltacht in Co Cork.
Protestors have cited a lack of help from the Department of Government and Housing – saying that a saturation of Airbnb-type rental properties mean that home ownership and renting is now impossible for many Gaeltacht residents.
The price of houses for sale are being increased continuously, often due to the high demand for them from communities outside of the Gaeltacht – meaning that the local community don’t have the resources to buy the houses that are available for sale.
NATIONAL POLICY
Conradh na Gaelige has for years, pointed to census figures showing that spoken Irish is being “steadily eroded” in the Gaeltacht, saying that planning and development matters have played a significant role in the viability of Irish as the community language.
Since 2016 and before that, CnG have highlighted the difficulties faced by local people in getting planning permission to build their own houses in the Gaeltacht.
The organisation has stressed that without a national policy for housing in the Gaeltacht, without a limit on developments in the Gaeltacht that don’t have language conditions imposed on them, and without strong legislative provisions, “the erosion of the Irish language in the Gaeltacht will continue on a systemic level.
Over the summer, the government’s asylum policy relating to the Gaeltacht sparked controversy — when it forced through the use of a hotel in An Cheathrú Rua in Conamara as a migrant centre for those claiming asylum. As reported by Niamh Ui Bhriain last June for Gript, hundreds of people packed the local hall in the Gaeltacht town to oppose the use of Óstán na Ceathrún Rua for the new arrivals. They pointed out that the town – with only 1,000 inhabitants – has already hosted 200 Ukrainians. CSO figures show that more than 1,800 Ukrainians were being accommodated in Connemara in February last year.
Manager of Comharchumann Mhic Dara, former Galway footballer, Seán Ó Domhnaill, told Nuacht TG4 that the Government was breaking it’s own rules in relation to protesting and protecting the language in Gaeltacht areas.
He said that people without Irish were being brought to live in a Gaeltacht area, when the local people were being refused planning permission to build in the area.
Seánán Mac Aoidh, manager of the co-operative Pobal Eascarrach in Donegal warned that many Gaeltacht areas are already seeing a decline in the number of daily Irish speakers. He was speaking as protestors gathered at Roinn na Gaeltachta in Gaoth Dobhair to highlight what they are calling the ongoing depopulation and displacement of the Gaeltacht, as more locals relocate to English-speaking areas.
“We hear plenty of talk about language planning but if there are no people in the Gaeltacht to speak the language, what is the point of discussing language planning? We are facing a crisis now and the State must urgently address this issue,” said Seanán Mac Aoidh, manager of Gaeltacht co-operative Pobal Eascarrach in Donegal.
“We have put forward clear proposals that would resolve many of the challenges and all that is needed to implement them is the will and commitment – two things we have not received from the Government when it comes to Gaeltacht housing for a very, very long time. If we are to secure the future of the Gaeltacht, urgent action is needed,” he added.
‘MASSIVE DECLINE’ IN IRISH SPEAKERS
Mr Mac Aoidh outlined four key demands put forward by campaigners, including outlining a plan for resources to be given to Údarás na Gaeltachta so that affordable housing can be delivered to locals, as well as the establishment of a Housing Section.
“Obviously there’s a housing crisis all over Ireland, but in the Gaeltacht, it’s having a particular effect where it’s compounding and making the language crisis much worse. We’re seeing a massive decline in the number of Irish speakers year-on-year,” he told Highland Radio. “There’s a huge amount of immigration, there’s a huge amount of pressure on people to turn to the English language because the social and economic basis for life in the Gaeltacht is being eroded.
“We need guidelines to come out so that there’s proper regulation around holiday homes and the housing market in general, which is completely distorted for lack of planning.
The organisation is also asking for a strategy to be put in place for housing and population in the Gaeltacht.
“We can’t have this free for all at the moment, where it’s dog eat dog. People can’t afford to rent, they can’t afford to buy, and they’re being pushed out of the area. It’s working to destroy our efforts in preserving and developing some of the last places in Ireland where the Irish language is still the community language,” Mr Mac Aoidh said.
At the South Kerry Gaeltacht, a meeting took place among locals, community representatives and agencies highlighting the housing crisis there and calling for a prioritisation of community development in the area.
Meanwhile, in Connemara, Co. Galway, a protest took place at the County Hall demanding action on housing in the Connemara Gaeltacht.
The demonstration was organised by community action group BANÚ, who have also handed in a letter to the local authority. Campaigners highlighted planning hurdles, as well as failures on the part of Galway County Council to deliver social and affordable housing.
Last week during a Dáil discussion, one TD said that there was a “significant and sustained shortfall” of housing across rural counties and Gaeltacht areas, referring to Gaeltacht na nDéise in Waterford. Drawing on the findings of a recent report from the Housing Commission, TD Conor McGuinness, who is Sinn Féin’s spokesperson for Gaeltacht regions, said: “While there has been some progress in recent months, the slow saga continues and there is still not one affordable or social home built.”
“Is amhlaidh an scéal é i nGaeltacht na nDéise,” he added.
Last year, the last remaining post office in Gaeltacht na nDeise closed after over 150 years of service, with locals criticising An Post for offering a contract they said was not realistic or sustainable.