Mayo Gaeltacht vacant homes coordinator to reach out to owners of properties

STIMULATING owners of long term vacant homes in Gaeltacht areas to make their property available for Irish speakers to live in will be the 'most important piece of the puzzle' in making the scheme a success.

A presentation on making vacant homes in Gaeltacht areas available to Irish speakers was made by Colm MacEachmharcaigh, the first Gaeltacht Vacant Homes Coordinator, to members of the Housing Strategic Policy Committee yesterday (Monday).

The Achill native, who was recently appointed will be employed by Mayo County Council, will work in partnership with county councils across the Gaeltacht to identify opportunities in each Gaeltacht area to attract Irish speakers to live in these areas.

The latest census figures showed that one third of houses were vacant in Gaeltacht communities in Mayo and Mr MacEachmharcaigh set out the plan for encouraging property owners to make them available for Irish speakers.

Pilot scheme

PART of this included a pilot scheme with an Approved Housing Body to renovate vacant houses but Mr MacEachmharcaigh said making the houses available will be the major obstacle.

“Vacant home owners are the most important piece of the puzzle at this point in motivating them to use their house.

“Right now because there are hundreds and thousands of empty homes in Gaeltacht areas but in most cases people are living elsewhere or in other countries and they are maybe not on their minds. It is about reaching out and getting them to understand the importance of it and how urgent it is,” he said.

In order to do this, Mr Mac Eachmharcaigh told members of the SPC that campaigns will take place in the local and national media to get people to understand how the lack of housing is leading to the decline in the Irish language and depopulation in Gaeltacht regions.

“I will work closely with local development companies in Gaeltacht areas and reach out to sports clubs and schools to shine a light on vacancy as a solution to the language crisis and to the population crisis along these areas.

“Sometimes it goes unnoticed but we need to shine a light and people need to talk about this and it reaches the ears of people who own these houses and they can think about how they can make a difference,” he said.

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When questioned by members of the SPC on what he hopes to achieve, he said it was to attract young families to live in Gaeltacht regions and get more children into local schools which are in decline.

Statistics

ACCORDING to statistics from the 2022 Census, there are approximately 6,160 empty homes in the Gaeltacht areas. This equates to 11 percent of the total housing stock, which is higher than the national average of 8 percent. The figures also show that there are 9,609 summer homes in the same areas.

Director of Services, Tom Gilligan said the census figures highlighted the scale of the problem facing Gaeltacht areas but believes that tackling the problem can help rejuvenate both the Irish language and the local economy.

“Apart from the vacancies which are extremely important, it will help to create opportunities of employment. It will give people an opportunity who have a connection with the language to come back to locate in Gaeltacht areas and help rejuvenate it. It is a win-win for everyone,” he said.