Cork County Council won't pause enforcement proceedings to remove log cabins 

Council chief executive Moira Murrell said her officials are tied to current legislation despite government review

Independent councillor William O’Leary said people who can’t afford to buy houses have, in some instances, put log cabins on land owned by their parents.

Cork County Council won't pause enforcement proceedings to remove or demolish log cabins or modular homes even while the Government carries out a review which may result in the relaxation of planning guidelines for their development.

Despite several councillors calling for a stay of execution for people using cabins as homes, council chief executive Moira Murrell said her officials are tied to current legislation and can’t deviate from it.

Independent councillor William O’Leary got cross-party support by calling for a pause in enforcement proceedings.

Mr O’Leary said he's dealing with three people who have had enforcement proceedings launched against them by the council.

“There’s a lot of anger over this. I know the council has tried to show as much discretion as it can, but ultimately the structure has to come down (if it breaches current stringent guidelines). We have to lay off for a couple of months,” Mr O’Leary said.

He said people who can’t afford to buy houses have, in some instances, put log cabins on their land, or on land owned by their parents, but the current law is so rigid that people can only build them near forestry.

“The only plausible person who’ll get planning for one at moment is Little Red Riding Hood,” he said.

“We're in a changing world and there’s a place for these,” Fianna Fáil councillor Frank O’Flynn said.

Independent councillor Finbarr Harrington said he’s aware of constituents who’d built them and now face the prospect of seeing them torn down.

“Pausing enforcement may be the difference in not making them homeless,” he said.

Independent councillor Peter O’Donoghue, who works in the construction sector, said as the cost of housing has gone through the roof, rural families will be looking more at such buildings.

“I’m glad to see this Government's changing track and using some common sense,” he said.

Fine Gael councillor Anthony Barry said “there’s huge merit” in what Mr O’Leary was looking for as log cabins and modular homes form part of the housing crisis solution being considered by the Government. 

Independent councillor Mary Linehan-Foley added: “I have a daughter living at home with no way of getting on the property ladder in the short term. We could use one for her. It’s better than living in box rooms."

County council chief executive Maura Murrell said she could understand the sentiments in Mr O’Leary’s motion.

However, she pointed out that housing enforcement is an executive function of the council and as such the local authority can only work with the current legislation that is put in front of it.

“It’s not within my gift to pause enforcement and we deal with them on a case-by-case basis. I expect some form of guidance will come and as soon as we have it we will be in a position to respond quickly to any changes,” Ms Murrell added.