Ó Bhéal an Phobail: Tithíocht i nGaeltacht Chiarraí Thiar (In the Community’s Own Words: Housing in the West Kerry Gaeltacht), a study conducted for policy impact, will be presented at an event at 6 p.m. on Friday, 9th October 2026. The study was conducted at the School of Social Work and Social Policy by Dr Ann Nolan, in collaboration with Dr Neasa Ní Chiaráin of the School of Linguistics, Speech, and Communication Sciences. The event will be hosted by Tobar Dhuibhne, Plean Teanga Chiarraí Thiar, the West Kerry Gaeltacht Language Plan and a partner in the study, at Áras Bhréanainn, Baile an Fheirtéaraigh.
This policy briefing paper provides an evidence-informed response to measures proposed in the Sustainable Rural and Gaeltacht Housing, DRAFT National Planning Statement (30th June 2026). It draws on emerging themes from the Ó Bhéal an Phobail: Tithíocht i nGaeltacht Chiarraí Thiar study, a mixed-methods study exploring how residents of the West Kerry Gaeltacht experience the housing crisis, its implications for community and Irish-language sustainability, and the policy and regulatory interventions they consider necessary to preserve the Gaeltacht for future generations.
Study participants understood access to sustainable and affordable housing as intrinsically connected to the future of Irish in the West Kerry Gaeltacht. Yet the evidence presented in the policy briefing paper indicates a substantial disconnect between local incomes and housing costs, alongside pressures associated with the loss of permanent housing to holiday homes and short-term rentals.
The paper recommends closer integration of housing and language-planning policy; proportionate regulation of residential property use to support housing and community sustainability; a broader, gender-proofed definition of economic need; stronger regulation of holiday homes and short-term rentals; enhanced housing protections for Irish speakers in multi-unit developments; a statutory methodology for Linguistic Impact Statements; and clearer guidance on balancing housing need with environmental and scenic protections in Gaeltacht areas.
The ABAIR research group (ABAIR-ÉIST, abair.ie) provided transcription and translation of the focus group data. This part of the study was led by Dr Neasa Ní Chiaráin, marking the first time that the Trinity-developed Irish speech recognition system was used to support social policy research in a Gaeltacht area. The study demonstrated how speech recognition technologies can support and strengthen democratic participation of people living in Ireland’s Gaeltacht areas, where Irish is the community language.
The study concludes that while Budget 2027 and other measures support Gaeltacht communities in maintaining their Irish-language skills, language-specific interventions alone are unlikely to reverse the decline in the number of people speaking Irish every day. Interventions in Gaeltacht communities should be accompanied by measures addressing the structural conditions necessary for intergenerational language transmission. Accordingly, the Sustainable Rural and Gaeltacht Housing, National Planning Statement presents an opportunity to adopt a more integrated whole-of-government approach in which housing policy and language policy are treated as interdependent.