Conor D McGuinness: Tale of Three Gaeltacht Sites and Housing Costs
Conor D McGuinness addresses failures on three Gaeltacht sites and the wider obstacles to social and affordable housing. He names Míle Háirne, An Seanna Fobal and Beall na nGaeil as examples of unresolved land rights, insufficient funding and high building costs.
Conor D McGuinness argues that Míle Háirne, An Seanna Fobal and Beall na nGaeil together illustrate a wider failure by government to tackle what he calls the Gaeltacht Thousand Crisis. He says each site has different problems, but the common thread is lack of delivery and clarity on land rights.
McGuinness highlights ownership and finance questions, noting multiple private landowners cited in the census and a mismatch between approvals and the funding required. He emphasises that current subsidies do not bridge the gap between site support and overall building costs for small rural developments.
The speaker recognises recent improvements on water infrastructure, saying the Irish Water issues are largely sorted. That progress, he argues, should create an opportunity to advance mixed social and affordable housing on these sites - if funding and planning obstacles are resolved.
McGuinness says he is prepared to work with local councillors and other parties to find solutions, while pressing for a clear master plan that balances social, affordable and one-off rural housing. The address calls for urgent attention to land rights, realistic subsidy arrangements and costed delivery plans.
Three sites, one pattern
Conor D McGuinness argues that Míle Háirne, An Seanna Fobal and Beall na nGaeil together illustrate a wider failure by government to tackle what he calls the Gaeltacht Thousand Crisis. He says each site has different problems, but the common thread is lack of delivery and clarity on land rights.
Land rights and finance
McGuinness highlights ownership and finance questions, noting multiple private landowners cited in the census and a mismatch between approvals and the funding required. He emphasises that current subsidies do not bridge the gap between site support and overall building costs for small rural developments.
Infrastructure and opportunity
The speaker recognises recent improvements on water infrastructure, saying the Irish Water issues are largely sorted. That progress, he argues, should create an opportunity to advance mixed social and affordable housing on these sites - if funding and planning obstacles are resolved.
Next steps and willingness to work
McGuinness says he is prepared to work with local councillors and other parties to find solutions, while pressing for a clear master plan that balances social, affordable and one-off rural housing. The address calls for urgent attention to land rights, realistic subsidy arrangements and costed delivery plans.
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Transcript
There was a question, I mean a lot of this comes down to how we measure and acknowledge demand. And it's clear that there is a lack of demand in the Gaelic language sector, in every Gaelic language sector. And there was a bit of a change in the Gaelic language sector recently, and it's likely that there will be a lack of demand and there will be a decline in the number of social workers, I suppose. But I suppose, in two or three years, there will be a bit of a change in the language. There is a lot of demand for that, and many people are saying that there is a lack of demand, unmatched demand. It's very, very high, I suppose, in the public sector. So those are some of the points that we are trying to get across in this meeting. Returning to Gaeilteach na nÉise, it seems to me a tale of three sites that sums up some of the failure by government to address the Gaeilteach Thousand Crisis. Míle Háirne, An Seanna Fobal and Beall na nGaeil. Each of them is different. Beall na nGaeil is a piece of land that is part of the Gaeilteach Thousand Crisis and there was a lot of work to be done over the years, especially with the work that was done to address the Gaeilteach Thousand Crisis. And there was a lot of work to be done over the years. In my own opinion, the only thing that is relevant to us, and I like the work, is that there is nothing relevant to that piece of land. An Seanna Fobal, I remember when it was difficult as a councillor in the first year of 2019, I was asked to create a council for myself or my son to create a council. There is nothing relevant to that in the last seven years. And there is nothing relevant to that. Míle Háirne, and again, I thank the people who have spoken to the council and to the councillors and the plans that are in place. But nothing is preventing the service sites from doing what I expect them to do and I have heard a lot of questions from local council members about the land. There is no money in that scheme and they are not making any money to do that. So those are a few of the questions that I would like to get out and maybe I will hear from local councillors and councillors and I will get back to you on the other questions. I would like to say a few things about the land rights. Regarding the land rights, I did not know that there were six, according to the census, there were six private land owners. So, you know, it is a big issue for the local council. I would like to say a few things about the land rights. According to the census, we have an approval of 20,000. But we are looking at 20 million and we have to look at the land and the land rights. And I think, you know, the three beds down. You know, we have to look at the land and the land rights including the land in Ballinagowl. And I would like to get back to you on the land rights. We are looking at the land and we are looking at the land and I think the size of the land that we have to work with and we are looking at the master plan for the next number of years. It is that mixture of the social, the affordable and going back to the point about the service sites. The big change that has happened over the last number of years is the Irish water situation. A number of years ago there were big issues around drinking water and both those issues are largely sorted now. So I suppose what this site gives us, it gives us that opportunity. You know, there is the issue around service sites internationally, they have been slow to actually come about. But what we will come back to is the actual building cost. And I suppose when the applicant at the end of the day realises that the subsidy that they are getting in relation to the site versus the overall building costs and building houses in rural Ireland, building small numbers, building the one off houses, at this stage there is a high cost around saying but we are willing to work with all parties around that.