A Waterford county councillor has publicly called for “special planning treatment” for the Ring Gaeltacht after claiming the future of the region was under threat from “too many blow-ins”.

A local authority in the South-East has intimated it may consider dezoning development land where landowners are showing reluctance to make one-off sites available for housing.

Waterford Council is to appoint an independent body to monitor emissions from two wind turbines operating in the east of the county following complaints of excessive noise and light flickering.