Banú, which advocates for a change in housing policy in the Gaeltacht regions, is calling on the Irish Government to intervene to enable families to work, live, and raise families in the Irish-speaking areas scattered across Ireland. 

Aoife Ní Chonghaile, chair of the organization, said the group is trying to keep people in the Gaeltacht regions in order to preserve the Irish language

Banú was founded late last year following a public meeting in Connemara, Co Galway, which highlighted the difficulties in securing accommodation in the Gaeltacht. 

"It started with an article by Adhna Ní Bhraonain on tuairisc.ie, when she wrote about the difficulties she was having getting a place to live, after moving back to her home area. Soon, it was apparent that there were lots of people in the same situation," Ní Chonghaile told RTÉ News. 

She said many people who attended the public meeting were young people who were living with relatives or living abroad but unable to afford to move back to the Gaeltacht.

"We had nearly 100 people at our first meeting. Since then we've been looking at the things that need to be done and trying to formulate ideas on how best to resolve the problems," she added. 

"We’re trying to keep people living in the Gaeltacht, so Irish can be spoken. It’s a living language here and we want to keep it that way." 

RTÉ reports that there are currently only four properties to rent between the villages of Bearna and Carna in Co Galway, compared to 197 listings on Airbnb. 

Others have faced problems securing planning permission to build houses in the Gaeltacht, with some Gaeltacht residents reporting a tortuously slow process to build houses in the Irish-speaking areas. 

One resident reported that his application for planning permission constantly hit snags, adding that it was more than two years before it was finally approved. 

Banú met with Irish Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien during his recent visit to Galway and urged him to address housing issues in the Gaeltacht regions. 

Ní Chonghaile said the group sought assurances from O'Brien that his Planning and Development Bill would include provisions specifically referencing the need for housing in the Gaeltacht regions. 

Meanwhile, Conradh na Gaeilge, a cultural organization promoting the Irish language, has called on O'Brien to devise a national housing policy to specifically address falling population rates in Gaeltacht regions across the country. 

Conradh na Gaeilge held its annual Ard Fheis in Blanchardstown over the weekend, calling for housing measures to address the current accommodation shortage in the Gaeltacht. 

Julian De Spáinn, General Secretary of the organization, told Irish radio station Newstalk that certain obstacles to living in the Gaeltacht regions need to be removed. 

He said the group is calling on the Irish Government to introduce a "comprehensive plan" to help solve planning problems in the Gaeltacht, adding that it will ensure that people can continue to live in the Irish-speaking regions.