A new report suggests specific planning policy could be put in place to protect the Irish language in Gaeltacht areas.
That’s a conclusion in the Report in relation to Planning Policy in respect of Housing for Gaeltacht Areas.
It was commissioned by the West Kerry Language Plan and carried out by Doyle Kent Planning Partnership Ltd.
This report describes the policies, law, guidelines, and plans regarding housing planning policy in all Gaeltacht areas.
The author, Karl Kent of Doyle Kent Planning Partnership Ltd, says the decline in Irish speaking in the Gaeltacht must be attributed to a complex set of factors.
He says planning policy can play a role, but the massive economic and social power of the English language must be the single major factor.
He notes all local authority development plans, for counties with Gaeltachts, include some provisions aimed at retaining an adequate proportion of Irish speakers in new residential development.
Mr Kent says, however, that much local authority policy is quite aspirational and arguably not closely focused on fostering retention, let alone expansion, of Irish speaking communities.
He believes planning policy as it exists seems to have had only limited impact in terms of protecting the language.
He feels there appears to be potential in any altering of national rural housing policy to bring about a more focused approach to settlement in the Gaeltacht.
He concludes a proportionate, discriminatory policy should be possible, given the drastic decline in the Irish language in the Gaeltacht, an official language of the EU, and the relatively small numbers of people involved.
