A new plan for An Daingean proposes that up to 40 per cent of new houses within the Kerry town formerly known as Dingle will be reserved for Irish speakers.
Council officials will test for Irish fluency and planning applications are to be assessed in terms of protecting and strengthening the linguistic, social and cultural heritage of the Gaeltacht, it says.
The Kerry County Council plan notes that culture and the Irish language accounts for "a substantial portion of tourism revenue" in the town whose official name change is the subject of an ongoing dispute. Tourism representatives in particular have said the name Dingle has to be retained.
Up to 63 per cent of An Daingean's 1,800 residents are Irish speakers, according to the 2002 census. A specific objective of the new town plan will be that a significant proportion of any future town centre housing be reserved for Irish speakers.
"The required standard will be determined and examined by Kerry County Council," according to the draft plan put before councillors at yesterday's meeting of the council held in Ardfert for the first time.
The language ruling will not apply to holiday home development, however. Future holiday homes are to be restricted to specific areas and kept away from the historic town centre.
Much of the centre is to be the subject of various preservation orders, with over 30 structures to be added to the existing stock.