Easing rural housing rules would deepen ‘two-tier’ system, warns expert

Restrictions on one-off housing include requirements to have a residential connection to the area and cause to live in the locality for work reasons

Cork County Council saw the highest number of successful approvals for one-off housing, with 3,182 developments granted from 2021 to 2025.

Plans to ease restrictions on one-off rural housing are an overtly populist move and exacerbate a “two-tier” housing system, according to a leading economics researcher at UCC.

The national planning statement on rural housing is set to go to Cabinet in June and is hoped "to provide clarity and consistency within the planning system".