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Housing Provision

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 September 2021

Tuesday, 28 September 2021

Questions (385, 386, 387)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

385. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the extent to which he expects to respond to the needs of the indigenous rural population, the families of which are in a position to provide a home for themselves in their native place but are being dissuaded thereby throwing a greater burden onto the housing market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46762/21]

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Bernard Durkan

Question:

386. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the extent to which he proposes to address the issue of housing for the indigenous young population of rural Ireland who have access to a building site from a parent or relative and who wish to provide their own housing thereby contributing to the alleviation of the housing crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46763/21]

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Bernard Durkan

Question:

387. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of indigenous rural applicants for planning permission to provide their own homes who have had their applications refused in the past 12 months; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that this places further competition for scarce housing supply; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46764/21]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 385 to 387, inclusive, together.

Under the Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Sustainable Rural Housing 2005, planning authorities are required to frame the planning policies in their development plans in a balanced and measured way that ensures the housing needs of rural communities are met, while avoiding excessive urban-generated housing, particularly in those areas near cities and towns that are under pressure from urban generated development.

The Guidelines identify four rural area types in respect of which planning authorities may formulate policies for ‘urban generated’ and ‘rural generated’ rural housing. Section 3.2.3 of the Guidelines suggests that in areas “under major urban influence”, planning authorities may define “rural generated” housing need for “Persons who are an intrinsic part of the rural community” and for “Persons working full-time or part-time in rural areas”.

Since 2018, the National Planning Framework (NPF) is the national planning policy document providing overall strategic policy for the future development of Ireland through specific National Policy Objectives (NPOs) that aim to support the overall rural and small town pattern of development in Ireland and deliver strengthened and diversified rural communities.

NPO 15 of the NPF fully supports the sustainable development of rural areas by encouraging growth and arresting decline in areas that have experienced low population growth or decline in recent decades, while simultaneously indicating the need to manage the development of certain areas around cities and towns that are under strong urban influence, in order to avoid over-development of those areas.

NPO 15 is supplemented by NPO 19, which aims to ensure that a policy distinction is made between areas experiencing significant overspill development pressure from urban areas, particularly within the commuter catchment of cities, towns and centres of employment, on the one hand, and other remoter and weaker rural areas where population levels may be low and or declining, on the other. NPF Policy NPO19 is aligned with the established approach whereby considerations of social (intrinsic part of the community) or economic (persons working full or part time) need may be applied by planning authorities in rural areas under urban influence.

Updated Rural Housing Planning Guidelines are currently being prepared by my Department to ensure consistency with new requirements and legislation at national and EU level introduced in respect of areas related to rural housing such as environmental protection, the Gaeltacht and climate action. The new guidelines will ensure a more consistent approach between counties and alignment with NPF objectives, and will be published in draft before the end of 2021. In the meantime, the NPF objectives together with the 2005 Guidelines, enable planning authorities to continue to draft and adopt county development plan policies that enable planning applications to be considered and planning permission to be granted for houses in rural areas.

The data requested is not collated by my Department. Planning statistics are compiled by each planning authority on an annual basis for collation and publication on my Department’s website, at the following link:

www.gov.ie/en/service/9e4ee-get-planning-statistics/

The data collected relates to the total number of applications and decisions for all developments that require planning permission, broken down by year and planning authority.

In addition, the Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical office, compiles and makes available detailed data on a number of planning related issues including permissions granted and completions by development type and county. Data is available at the following link on the CSO website: www.cso.ie/en/statistics/construction/planningpermissions/

It is noteworthy that there is strong delivery of new homes in rural areas nationally in recent years – with more than 25,000 rural house planning permissions granted in last 5 years. In the same period, more than 90% of that number of rural homes were built, comprising around one in three houses completed in Ireland between 2016 and 2020.

Question No. 386 answered with Question No. 385.
Question No. 387 answered with Question No. 385.
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