Non-Irish speaker ban faces legal test

PLANS by Galway Co Council to ban non-Irish speakers from living in the Gaeltacht areas of the county could be open to legal challenge.

The council is insisting that anyone looking for planning permission in a scenic and highly sought-after area stretching from Barna on the outskirts of the city to Carna, just outside Connemara, must pass an Irish oral test.

Employers in the Connemara Gaeltacht are being told they will only have the support of planning officials if would-be employees are Irish speakers.