People in rural Ireland need a new, united voice and an effective means of making their views known to the powers that be, according to three key organisations in Kerry which have joined forces in a bid to halt rural decline.

THE Irish Rural Dwellers Association (IRDA) has hit back at claims by a Kerry County Council engineer that one-off houses are destroying parts of the scenic landscape and causing water pollution.

A NUMBER of organisations in Kerry have joined forces to tackle rural isolation and growing suicide levels among elderly people.

IT’S a steep drop from €550,000 to €399,000, but that’s the way to get buyers going in the present market.

A GROUP representing rural householders is to tell an Oireachtas committee tomorrow it believes thousands of decisions made by Bord Pleanála may be illegal.

LEGISLATION on the rights of homeowners to defend their property from intruders is likely to be published early in 2007.

NON-NATIVES of North Tipperary are to be prevented from building one-off houses in parts of the county to protect the countryside from unsustainable development.

PLANNING inconsistencies are causing extra financial hardship for those waiting to move into new homes, architects claimed yesterday.

OVER three-quarters of the planning permissions for one-off houses granted by local authorities were overturned following objections to An Bord Pleanála, their latest annual report has revealed.

THE cost of new houses will rise again in the new year, the Irish Rural Dwellers Association (IRDA) claimed last night.

RESTRICTIONS on one-off housing in rural areas are set to become the biggest issue in next year’s local elections unless the Government follows through on its plans to reform planning legislation, the Irish Rural Dwellers Association (IRDA) has warned.

THE recent attacks on An Taisce highlight a level of ignorance that is frightening coming from people in positions of leadership.

LOCAL authorities could be forced to pay millions of euro in compensation if they refuse planning permission to protect the natural beauty of an area, according to the Irish Rural Dwellers Association.

HUNDREDS of families can’t settle outside Dublin because strict planning laws won’t allow them build country houses, a resettlement group has said.

CITY dwellers are subsidising the lifestyles of rural people, who are paying less for basic services, according to a planning consultant.

IRELAND’S population drain is inciting racist attitudes, it was claimed yesterday.

PLANNING organisation An Taisce has been labelled “public enemy number one” by rural dwellers annoyed at its objections to housing plans.