FF accused of rural housing stunt
The announcement of the relaxation of the one-off housing planning rules will also come as a welcome distraction from the sleaze allegations against Fianna Fáil emanating from Tom Gilmartin's explosive testimony at the Mahon Tribunal.
Staunchly defending the new rules which make it easier to get planning permission for one-off housing in the countryside, Minister for the Environment Martin Cullen didn't accept that the proximity to this weekend's FF Árd Fheis was anything more than a coincidence, as he said he had hoped to have the guidelines in draft format before the end of last year.
However, FF parliamentary party chairman Seamus Kirk cited the one-off housing proposals as a classic example of a policy change coming about directly as a result of a significant body of opinion within the FF organisation being expressed in a number of fora.
Yet, while publicising the details of the FF Árd Fheis, Mr Kirk didn't accept the timing was anything more than an accident. "Politics is full of coincidences." The agenda for the Árd Fheis, issued a half an hour before the housing announcement, includes an opportunity for the minister to respond to questions from party members on one-off housing during the live TV broadcast tomorrow morning.
Previously Taoiseach Bertie Ahern described one-off housing as arguably the biggest issue in the country and he committed the Government to develop a new policy.
Mr Cullen has postponed a decision on whether additional measures to ensure septic tanks and waste-water systems are monitored and maintained regularly is necessary to combat pollution of the environment.
The rural housing guidelines are aimed at reducing the overturning of planning permission for one-off housing as Mr Cullen targeted a cut in the refusal rate by An Bord Pleanála from 76% to only 10%.
According to the minister, the guidelines will also ensure applications in rural areas suffering from population decline will be granted, subject to proper planning practice, as well as to people with rural links. "People who are born in an area, who live in an area and who contribute to an area will be entitled to build their home in that area."
The present rules are being interpreted over-rigidly by the planning authorities, according to Mr Cullen, who wants local authorities and An Bord Pleanála to adopt a more positive and pro-active approach in dealing with rural housing.
Describing the new guidelines as a free-for-all and a recipe for a bungalow blitz in the countryside, the Green Party said it will lead to more pollution, traffic and social isolation.
Sinn Féin welcomed the guidelines, and Fine Gael issued a guarded welcome as the party joined with Labour in pointing to forthcoming local and European elections as the motivation behind their publication.
However, the Irish Farmers Association rejected the guidelines as too restrictive as it said the enforcement will lead to family members being forced to live in clusters of houses.
Macra na Feirme said Mr Cullen was being hypocritical as young people wanting to build homes in rural area were still being hit by exorbitant development levies.
