Communities that no longer wish to remain within Gaeltacht areas may have the chance to "opt out" as part of a survey being undertaken by the Department for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.
The survey will be the most detailed of its type on Irish language use since the State's foundation, the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Mr Ó Cuív, said at a post-Estimates briefing in Galway yesterday, at which he also announced dedicated funding of almost €6 million for disadvantaged urban areas under the RAPID programme.
Welcoming a 5 per cent increase in his Department's estimates for next year, Mr Ó Cuív highlighted a new provision of €4.5 million for the RAPID programme for urban areas. This dedicated funding would bring total financial support for RAPID up to €5.8 million, he said, and would be of great significance for deprived areas designated under the programme.
Most of the funds come from a €15 million allocation for RAPID, Clar and drugs task force areas, given by the Dormant Accounts Disbursements Board, which handles monies from accounts untouched for more than 15 years and unclaimed life assurance policies.
The language survey will analyse Irish usage in urban pockets such as Barna and Moycullen in Co Galway, which may be affected by the provisions of the Galway County Development Plan. The plan aims to discriminate positively in favour of new housing schemes where the developer can commit to exclusive use by Irish-speaking residents.
The Minister said there was a need for total reform of Gaeltacht policy, as the needs of these areas were very different to those identified in the 1950s and 1960s. In the case of Galway - the largest and most populated Gaeltacht area - inward migration was doing more damage to the Irish language than emigration, he said. "At the same time, if there are areas where people don't want to be in the Gaeltacht any more, we need to find that out," he said.
Mr Ó Cuív also warned agencies such as Údarás na Gaeltachta must keep their administration costs "in line" for returns under the benchmarking arrangement. Údarás na Gaeltachta has been given a 17 per cent increase in current spending, but grants for industry and capital expenditure on buildings will be cut by €2 million.
A consultancy study for the Department found that €20 million in property could be sold by Údarás na Gaeltachta without affecting the organisation. Currently, its property portfolio is valued at €120 million. Buildings and land worth €1 million have been sold by the authority this year.