Fine Gael bye-election candidate Seán Kyne has defended the deprioritisation of social housing development in the actively Irish-speaking areas of Connemara.
Speaking to the Advertiser at his campaign launch in Salthill, Senator Kyne was asked about the lack of recent social and affordable housing developments west of Barna in the Connemara Gaeltacht.
In reply, the former Gaeltacht minister said there had been little social housing development in the more English-speaking areas of Connemara, which is why they had been given priority.
“We have prioritised, and Galway County Council have prioritised, areas which hadn’t seen social housing development,” Kyne said.
“And that’s why we have focused on Moycullen, on Barna, on Clifden, Letterfrack and Roundstone, and that is providing homes for people.”
Clifden, Letterfrack and Roundstone are not part of the Gaeltacht. Moycullen, where Senator Kyne is based, and Barna, are technically located within official Gaeltacht boundaries. Fewer people living in these areas regularly speak Irish, and as such they are often referred to as “breac-Ghaeltachtaí” (partial Gaeltachts ).
Just seven per cent of the population in the Moycullen Language Planning Area (LPA ) reported being daily Irish-speakers in the 2016 census. This figure for the Barna and Knocknacarra LPA was 5.9 per cent.
“There are plenty of people with Irish in Moycullen, in Barna, who have availed of those houses,” Kyne said.
Under the amended Housing (Gaeltacht ) Act of 2001, the Minister for the Gaeltacht has the power to issue financial grants to Irish speakers to build new houses in the Gaeltacht. Such a scheme was first introduced in 1929, but was suspended in 2009 by the then-Fianna Fáil government due to cutbacks.
Senator Kyne was asked if he would advocate for such a scheme to be reintroduced if elected as a TD for Galway West.
“I mean, absolutely. Anything that will increase supply, will increase the number of houses available,” he replied.
The senator was also asked why he did not implement such a scheme during his own tenure as Gaeltacht minister despite now being in favour of it.
“You know, we always had budgetary constraints during my time. So thankfully there are now more resources,” he replied.
The Fine Gael candidate also said that there had been a failure to implement housing schemes in the Gaeltacht due to a lack of wastewater infrastructure. He believes this problem would be alleviated by the Critical Infrastructure Bill which was published last week.
“Look at Carraroe, we have failed [there] because of the lack of the sewer scheme that has gone through a process of planning permission over a long number of years,” he said.
“Carna and Kilkieran will now benefit under the schemes for temporary wastewater treatment plants in those areas as well.”
When asked if active Gaeltacht regions should be given greater priority in terms of public housing provision, due to concerns about the future viability of the language, Senator Kyne declined to answer.
“Priority has to be given to areas where there is [housing] need, including west of Barna,” he said.
Role of Údarás
The Fine Gael candidate was also ambivalent about the exact role Údarás na Gaeltachta should be given in relation to the Programme for Government’s commitment to to ensure “adequate provision of housing…in Gaeltacht communities.”
“That’s a commitment in the programme for government that they would have a key role in relation to vacant houses, and also making land available to the local authority,” he said.
“Now there is a debate whether Údarás want – or should have – the powers in relation to planning and house building. But they’re very, very happy and committed to engaging with Galway County Council.”
Gaeltacht housing activist Donncha Ó hÉallaithe from the campaign group BÁNÚ, reacted to the Senator’s remarks about the English-speaking parts of Connemara being given priority over actively Irish-speaking areas.
“That’s the problem. People are being drawn out of regions where Irish is being used, to regions where Irish is not being used, whether that be inside the ‘official’ Gaeltacht or outside the Gaeltacht,” he told the Advertiser.
Ó hÉallaithe also expressed concern that Gaeltacht families may face difficulties accessing Irish-medium education for their children if they have to move to more peripheral Gaeltacht areas, like Moycullen, where most of the schools operate through English.
“If people are being drawn from strong Gaeltacht regions to take houses [elsewhere], there may be no education through Irish available in [somewhere like] Moycullen. This is the wiping out of the Gaeltacht,” he said.
BÁNÚ hopes to draw attention to the housing crisis in the Gaeltacht as a key issue in the upcoming Galway West by-election. It is concerned that the housing crisis is undermining the continued viability of Irish as a community language.
The group has published a pamphlet urging voters to raise its demands regarding Gaeltacht housing among by-election candidates.
Invitations to all candidates were issued by BÁNÚ to attend an information session in Áras na nGael, in Galway city, last night, Wednesday, April 29.
