Just after watching the 9 o'clock news on RTE and can't believe what I've heard. This country is gone f**king mad. Excuse the language but seriously - An Bord Pleanala have apparently put a condition on a planning permission for a holiday home in An Cheathrú Rua. The condition is that anyone who will stay in the house for longer than a month must pass an Irish test. Now, whilst I understand the problem with the massive increase in holiday homes and the obvious detrimental effect that it can have on a community - how does putting a stupid clause about the Irish language into planning permissions help the situation? If that clause is put onto all new holiday homes in Gaeltacht areas effectively people cannot go and stay there for more than a month unless they are native Irish speakers. So, if I want to go on holiday for five weeks to An Cheathrú Rua, effectively as a native Irish person who doesn't speak Irish I can't go - yeah now that's logical!
Surely a tax on homes that are built solely as holiday homes would make more sense, it could be implemented on all such homes without creating the ludicrous situation that makes it impossible for tourists or non-irish speaking people to stay in the Gaeltacht for more than four weeks.
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