Plans for a 17-house development in the Gaeltacht village of Spiddal could destroy the Irish language in the community and could also have a serious socio-economic impact on the south Connemara region, a Bord Pleanála hearing has been told.
Linguistic conditions attached to the planning approval would not be sufficient to protect Irish usage, Mr Donncha Ó hEallaithe, lecturer at Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, told the hearing. All research showed a minority language could only be sustained if 70 per cent of the community spoke it daily, he said.
This was corroborated by Prof Pádraig Ó Laighin of University College Dublin, who had undertaken studies on the subject in Canada.
Mr Ó hEallaithe was representing Grúpa Aitreoirí Bothúna Thoir, residents of the Bothuna area outside Spiddal where a 17- house scheme has been approved by Galway County Council.
The residents' objection is supported by several Irish language groups and community organisations, including Foras na Gaeilge, Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge, Conradh na Gaeilge, and by Údaras na Gaeltachta.
Hyberg Ltd, developer of the scheme, is also appealing the planning conditions, including the stipulation that a percentage of the development can only be sold or rented to Irish language speakers for a period of 10 years.
The Bord Pleanála hearing, which is conducted in Irish under inspector Mr Michael Breathnach, is regarded as a test case for new planning provisions aimed at protecting the language in Gaeltacht areas.
Mr Ruairí Ó Beara, a teacher and parent involved in community sports, said Bothuna did not have the cultural and social infrastructure to withstand the effects on the language if 17 non-Irish speaking families moved in.
Mr Ó Beara said the GAA had not even been able to protect the language when it organised football summer camps on the local pitch five years ago.
"People came from outside and brought English with them and this changed the language practice of our local club," Mr Ó Beara said.
Ms Martina Ní Ghabhainn, a former teacher involved with camogie, said if even seven children came into a sports club without Irish, English would become the dominant language.
Strong conditions had to be attached to the housing development for this reason, she said.
Mr Ó hEallaithe said three housing estates built recently in Spiddal had already had a negative impact, in that only two of 39 dwellings were Irish-speaking.
These houses had been built before the new language impact conditions were introduced.
Daily language use had already fallen by 6 per cent in the village between 1996 and 2002, based on census data, whereas it had increased by 1 per cent in the neighbouring divisional electoral district of Killanin.
A study undertaken by Dr Mary O'Malley-Madec in Carraroe, where a language-impact statement applied to local authority houses was challenged in the High Court, found that 35 per cent of social communication was taking place already through English, even though only 24 per cent were without Irish.
Where communication between peers fell below 70 per cent, the decline in use of a minority language was rapid, he said.
Mr Eoghan Ó Droighneáin, chairman of Glór na nGael an Spidéal, said the new housing development could have a positive impact if tight language conditions were applied.
Earlier evidence on the need to take protective measures was corroborated by Mr Pádraig Ó hAoláin of Údaras na Gaeltachta.