Recent data has raised concerns that there are no longer enough Irish speakers in  Gaeltacht areas.

Census results has shown there was a 2% drop in Irish speakers in the country, although there was an increase in population in Gaeltacht areas around Ireland. 

Amid the increase in non-Gaeilgoirí living in the Gaeltacht, long-time residents and Irish speakers fear what their future holds. 

West Kerry language planner John Prendergast said the Gaeltacht deserves “every bit of protection it can get”. 

“We need a more cohesive State approach to protecting and promoting Irish speaking in the Gaeltacht,” he told Lunchtime Live. 

“The Irish language is something that we should all be thinking about in every portfolio of State life – it should be supported.” 

Mr Prendergast said accommodation has become a “huge issue” in the Gaeltacht. 

He noted in some parishes in the Gaeltacht, up to 70% of properties could be holiday homes that lay unoccupied for the vast majority of the year. 

“It's incredibly difficult for younger people to buy a house to get planning permission, or to even get short-term or long-term accommodation,” he said. 

“There will be no growth of communities in Gaeltacht areas if we're not willing to promote favourable policies for Irish speakers in Irish-speaking areas.” 

'Turfed out' of the Gaeltacht

Dr Aoife Granville from Dingle said many people will have to move away from the Gaeltacht as they’re being “turfed out” by short-term lettings and holiday homes. 

“There are people that have holiday homes in the area that are fantastic and get involved and everything like that, but I think there has to be some sort of rules,” she said. 

“There are a lot of young people interested in the language and our tradition, but they need to be able to live in Gaeltacht areas and work in Gaeltacht areas.” 

Breanndán Ó Beaglaíoch in Tralee spent 15 years trying to get planning permission from the council to build a house as it has “no respect for the [Irish] language”. 

“It’s as if they were on a mission to kill the Irish language,” he said. “It won't be spoken in another 20 or 30 years if this Government doesn't wake up to the fact that their laws are killing it. 

“It’s being strangled at the source.” 

Villages and clusters

To boost occupation of Irish speakers in Gaeltacht areas, Mr Ó Beaglaíoch said the Government needs more than rules on needing to speak Irish.  

He explained that previous planning rules drove people out of villages in Gaeltacht areas, spreading local communities further apart. 

“Ribbon development and one-off housing does not belong to us as a cultural people,” he said. 

“Those laws were enforced by planners and now they don't know where to turn. 

“We have a solution – recognise that our villages have worked and let us build within the clusters.” 

He said the Government would not need to invest a lot to let Gaeltacht areas grow in strength as true Irish-speaking areas. 

You can listen back here: