"Progress in the Gaeltacht: A Future Built on Action, Not Rhetoric" – Deputy Aindrias Moynihan

"Progress in the Gaeltacht: A Future Built on Action, Not Rhetoric" – Deputy Aindrias Moynihan

In last week’s edition of this paper, a Sinn Féin Senator painted a stark picture of the decline of our Gaeltacht communities, particularly those here in Cork. While I welcome any genuine concern for the future of the Gaeltacht, I was struck by how one-sided and bleak that portrayal was. Yes, there are challenges, particularly in housing and planning, but to ignore the progress being made does a disservice to the very communities we’re all working to support.

The Senator rightly highlighted the need for planning reform. That’s why I find it hard to reconcile her remarks with her party’s opposition to the Planning and Development Act 2024, a landmark piece of legislation introduced in the final days of the last Government. This Act modernises our outdated planning system, cuts through red tape, and brings greater clarity, consistency and certainty to planning processes. Crucially, it introduces tailored supports for Gaeltacht communities.

Among its key measures are a reformed An Bord Pleanála, statutory timelines for planning decisions, and improved judicial review processes. Most importantly for the Gaeltacht, it requires local authorities to develop dedicated Gaeltacht plans, designed to protect the Irish language and culture while enabling sustainable development. This is the most targeted planning framework ever put in place for Gaeltacht areas.

While it is said that ‘tús maith leath na hoibre’, we’re not stopping there. The Government is embedding the protection of the Irish language into how we plan and build for the future. Work is underway on a fair, standardised Irish language test for those seeking to build in Gaeltacht areas.

This isn’t about excluding people, it’s about ensuring that new housing genuinely supports Irish as the everyday, community language it’s meant to be. The model being explored is based on Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge, an internationally recognised language proficiency exam. An interdepartmental group, including the Departments of Housing and the Gaeltacht, and Údarás na Gaeltachta, is working on the detail to ensure the system is fair, workable, and effective.

As someone who deals daily with families trying to build homes in their native communities, I understand the frustrations. Planning can be challenging across rural Ireland, but in the Gaeltacht, it carries deeper implications. When a native speaker is unable to build locally, we risk more than a planning refusal, we risk weakening the very culture we’re trying to protect. That’s why I raised these issues in the Dáil during Seachtain na Gaeilge. We need more than rhetoric. We need action. And that’s what this Government is delivering.

In Baile Mhic Íre alone, over 20 homes are currently under construction. One-off housing builds have been rising steadily across the Muscraí Gaeltacht in recent years, and the Croí Cónaithe scheme is helping bring vacant homes back to life. Meanwhile, the largest social housing investment in Mid Cork’s history has already seen over 200 families moved into brand new homes, over 20 of those in the Gaeltacht itself, with more in the pipeline, including new planning proposals for Baile Mhic Íre.

We’re also delivering the infrastructure that underpins this growth. New wastewater treatment plants in Baile Mhuirne and Cill na Martra have created fresh development opportunities.

Supporting housing in the Gaeltacht is not a side project, it’s central to our national priorities. The Programme for Government reflects this. Fianna Fáil is committed to restoring key rural supports like the Scéim na mBóithre Áise to improve local roads, reinstating direct elections to Údarás na Gaeltachta, and ensuring planning policies protect one-off rural homes. We are also expanding initiatives like the Ready to Build scheme and working to ensure Uisce Éireann prioritises rural wastewater investment through the Small Towns and Villages Growth Programme.

Our work doesn’t stop at housing. Through Our Rural Future, we’re revolutionising how people live and work in rural Ireland. Construction work has commenced to revitalise the historic Coláiste Íosagáin site in Baile Mhúirne, with an €8 million transformation underway that will create 200 jobs.

Remote working hubs have been a game-changer, with 375 hubs now live on the ConnectedHubs.ie platform, including 23 Gteic hubs across Gaeltacht regions. Páirc Ghnó in Béal Átha an Ghaorthaidh is a shining example. Nearly 75% of hub spaces are now occupied, helping people stay rooted in their communities, while creating local economic activity and reducing commutes. The success of the Connected Hubs voucher scheme, redeemed nearly 8,000 times, shows the appetite is there. A new national strategy is on the way to guide the next phase of this transformation.

Meanwhile, the National Broadband Plan is continuing apace. I’m sure if the readers of this article were to look out their window now they would see that vans are around the place, as survey and design of the local network is underway. High-speed broadband is being rolled out to homes, farms, schools and businesses across the country, with over 344,000 premises passed and 119,000 connected so far. This is the kind of critical infrastructure that will keep rural and Gaeltacht areas competitive in the years ahead.

And culturally, our Gaeltacht regions are thriving. Across Ireland, there’s a renewed grá for the Irish language, and here in Cork, we see the beating heart of that revival. CLG Cill na Martra contested an All-Ireland club final in Croke Park last year and hosted a hugely successful Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta. CLG Béal Átha’n Ghaorthaidh won that same competition two years earlier, and Naomh Abán LGFA reached an All-Ireland final of their own.

Meanwhile, Cumann Aisteoirí Béal Átha have staged major Irish language musicals both locally and on the national stage, from Cork Opera House to the Everyman Theatre. These aren’t isolated events. They are a reflection of a strong, proud, vibrant Gaeltacht community that continues to make a powerful contribution to our national identity.

Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam, and we must continue to work to protect our language. But let’s not fall into the trap of presenting our Gaeltacht as a place in decline. It is a place of growth, resilience, and renewal. Yes, challenges remain, but progress is being made. This Government has a plan. We are delivering on it. And we will continue working, side by side with local communities, to ensure a strong future for the Irish language, for the Gaeltacht, and for the people who call it home.

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