Cork County Council is only local authority without language policy for Gaeltacht housing 

Councillor Gobnait Moynihan said the council is planning to build some houses in Baile Mhuirne and it should reserve a percentage of these for those who speak Irish on a daily basis

The issue was raised at a meeting in County Hall by Fianna Fáil councillor Gobnait Moynihan, a fluent Irish speaker who lives in the Mhuscraí Gaeltacht. Picture: Jim Coughlan

Calls have been made to amend the County Development Plan to ensure Irish speakers are allocated a guaranteed percentage of new council and private houses that are built in the region’s Gaeltacht areas.

Cork County Council is currently the only local authority in the country which to date has not adopted such a policy in its planning conditions, despite the fact that an act was passed 25 years ago which allows councils with Gaeltacht areas to do this.

The issue was raised at a meeting in County Hall by Fianna Fáil councillor Gobnait Moynihan, a fluent Irish speaker who lives in the Mhuscraí Gaeltacht.

That area encompasses a number of small villages in the Mid-Cork region such as Cùil Aodha, Baile Mhuirne, Cill na Martra, Réidh na nDoirì and Béal Àtha nGhaothaidh.

The other Gaeltacht area in the county is Oileàn Cléire off the West Cork coast.

Ms Moynihan said the council is planning to build some houses in Baile Mhuirne and it should reserve a percentage of these for those who speak Irish on a daily basis.

Ms Moynihan said the Planning and Development Act 2000 gave councils the green light to place language conditions on housing developments in Gaeltacht areas.

“All other councils with a Gaeltacht area are tackling this issue, except for Cork County Council. Take Donegal County Council, for example, where any housing development must have a minimum of 85% of the units allocated to Irish speakers,” she said.

A Gaeltacht only exists because a percentage of people in the particular area speak Irish daily. The Gaeltacht status could be lost quickly if the level of daily Irish language speakers falls.

"We know from the last census that there was a 2.4% drop of daily Irish speakers in the (Mhuscraí Gaeltacht) location already. For this reason the language conditions on such a housing development is paramount in preserving the Gaeltacht and for the growth of the language. At least other councils are tackling the issue, but to date Cork County Council is not,” Ms Moynihan said.

Fianna Fáil councillor Gearóid Murphy said it was unfortunate that Cork County Council appeared to be the only local authority which hadn’t adopted the terms of the 2000 Act, while fluent Irish speaker Fianna Fáil councillor Gillian Coughlan also voiced her support.

Mid-Cork based Fine Gael councillor Michael Creed also said there has to be a commitment from the council to provide houses for Irish speakers in Gaeltacht areas.

Council chief executive Moira Murrell said that a review is to take place shortly of the current County Development Plan and officials will give consideration to what the councillors had asked for when this happens.