Vol. 572 No. 5
2 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government the legislative proposals he has to amend the planning and development Acts, especially in relation to the issue of one-off housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23692/03]
4 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government his plans to appoint a commission to examine the issue of once-off rural housing. [23691/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 and 4 together.
No more than 12 minutes are allowed for the two.
Overall Government policy on rural housing is set out in the national spatial strategy, published in November 2002. The rural settlement policy framework contained in the strategy aims to sustain and renew established rural communities while strengthening the structure of villages and smaller settlements to support local economies, ensuring key assets in rural areas are protected to support the quality of life and also ensuring rural settlement policies are responsive to the local circumstances in different areas. It is of particular importance, as the Taoiseach and I have made clear, that we cater for those who have roots in an area and make an economic contribution to it. It is vitally important that there be certainty and consistency in the implementation by planning authorities of Government policy in the matter through their development plans and in the operation of the development control system under planning legislation. That is the purpose of the guidelines under the planning and development Act which I intend to introduce to deal with the issue. They are at an advanced stage of preparation, and I hope to issue them as a public consultation document before the end of the year.
The guidelines will also be aimed, through the operation of the planning system, at securing greater public awareness of the issues involved in rural settlement policies and greater consensus on their practical implementation. Given the approach I am taking to the proposed guidelines, I have no proposals to appoint a commission to examine the matter, nor is it proposed to deal with it by amending primary legislation.
The Minister has not answered my question. We were told in the House that he was preparing legislation to amend the planning and development Acts and that proposals were to be brought to the Government in that respect. Today I ask what legislative proposals are contained in the legislation the Minister is preparing. The House is entitled to know this.
In fairness to the Deputy, there may be some confusion or cross-purposes between us on several issues. As has been made clear, both by the Taoiseach and by me in recent days, I am working on proposals for strategic national infrastructure. That was part of what I was referring to all along – that I was bringing forward—
The Tánaiste said this morning that that was separate legislation.
I am trying to be helpful and give the Deputy information he did not seek.
This matter will be brought forward and I will probably then have two choices. Due to the narrow way in which the question is framed and because under the Planning Acts I can bring forward guidelines to deal specifically with this, I can do so on a narrow basis.
The second question then arises as to whether I need a totally separate planning Bill for other issues and I am not certain about that at this stage. I want to make that clear because there seems to be some confusion about two planning Bills. I am waiting for all the assessments to be done and, as the Deputy knows, I have other matters to consider which are the subject of consultation at present. There is a subsequent question on that matter.
What are they?
The planning guidelines are another matter, and that process is now being completed. I will deal with this later. The likelihood is that I will need to look at a second planning Act. Whether I can do it all in one—
Do what?
I want to look at the various issues involved. I have already given two—
What are they?
I have already outlined two areas.
I would prefer if the Minister did not answer questions asked by way of interruptions.
Either the Deputy wants me to give him information or he does not.
The Minister is giving no information.
I have instanced two specific areas which are under consideration. Also, all the regional authorities are preparing their regional planning guidelines at present and I am aware of issues arising in that context which might require me to go back and look at legislation also. I am not certain whether I can do all of this under existing legislation or whether new legislation is needed. The Deputy can rest assured there will be another planning Bill entitled the strategic national infrastructure Bill, or a title akin to that, when I have agreement from Government. Before Christmas I hope to bring heads of a Bill before Government on this matter.
It is easily known there is a local election next June, because the Taoiseach dived in to respond on this issue—
A question, Deputy.
—in an opportunistic way. He dived in without thinking this matter through. There are widely differing views on one-off rural housing. Will the Minister take all those views on board before issuing guidelines? Will he consider waste management and infrastructural requirements? He should take these views on board before diving in opportunistically before a local election to catch as many votes as possible without thinking the problem through. Even at this stage will the Minister consider setting up a commission of short duration which would consult all views to create an informed approach to this very complex problem?
With all due respect to the Deputy, I am becoming more and more convinced that nobody reads any reports any more. I am not going to be a Minister who commissions reports all over the place for the sake of it.
The Minister came up with the septic tank proposals.
I want to do something about this matter. The policy was set out under the national spatial strategy and it is quite clear what that policy is. I am going to refine that policy on foot of all the different elements around the country but the one thing I cannot do – and any Minister would be foolish to do so – is to prescribe an absolutist position on one-off housing for the entire country. What is required in Dublin may be very different from what is required in Kerry. This work is done and I do not need a commission to go off and do something else, telling me what I and other Deputies know – that the differences of interpretation of existing rules in this area are far too wide.
One difficulty is that in Ireland, a country with a population of less than four million people, we have 88 separate planning authorities. If we were to start off again, we might not have quite so many. Before anyone jumps up to say I am going to get rid of the various planning authorities, I am not, but correlation among them is very difficult.
We have heard all the views and the position is very clear on one-off rural housing. Those who are born, reared, working, living or moving to an area in order to make an economic contribution to that area should, within reason, be entitled to build a house in that area while fulfilling the normal criteria for anyone moving into a house. My view is that people are entitled to live in the countryside. I do not have any problem with that and providing we get over some of the issues in this area, such as waste management issues which can now be dealt with, we can have a proper rural settlement policy. However, there has been a view in Ireland for far too long that one can object to anything one wants.
I emphasise one final point – this is fundamentally different to people arriving from urban centres in Ireland to build holiday homes all over the place. That is not necessarily making an economic contribution to an area and we have some examples of areas where, because of that practice, local people are unable to buy land on which to buy houses because of the way costs are driven up by those building holiday homes. That is a different issue.
I want to be clear on this. The Minister is telling us today there is to be no change in the law on one-off housing, that there has been no change in Government policy on one-off rural housing since the publication of the national spatial strategy and that there will not be a change in Government policy on the matter. The only thing he is going to do is produce guidelines.
Can he reconcile the two contradictions in his statement? On one hand he says the situation is very different in different parts of the country but on the other hand he is going to produce guidelines for what he calls consistency. How do we reconcile that? How is he going to produce guidelines for every local authority when situations differ from area to area, which he acknowledges himself? Can he confirm to the House that my understanding of his reply is correct – that there is to be no change in the law on one-off housing and that there is no change in Government policy on one-off housing? If that is the case, what on earth was the Taoiseach talking about in Sligo?
Does the Minister agree with what the Taoiseach said here on 30 September in response to a question from Deputy Kenny? He said this facility would only be extended to the siblings of landowners. If that is the case, we have no change whatsoever. What is the Minister waffling on about, or is he merely electioneering prior to next June's election?
It seems that one cannot do anything in this country unless one has a report or legislation. Common sense—
The Minister is not—
I listened to both Deputies.
The Minister should be allowed to answer.
To answer Deputy Gilmore, of course basic criteria can be set for the entire country.
They are already there.
There are basic issues of waste management and dealing with septic tanks.
We know that.
Allow the Minister to answer.
The Deputy asked me a question. There are inconsistencies in the way those criteria are interpreted in different parts of the country. Deputies Allen and Gilmore have been hounding me for taking powers away from local authorities but today we have the reverse. They want me to centralise everything.
No.
No.
The Minister is confused.
I am not. I will be clear and repeat this for the benefit of the deaf on the other side of the House. The position is—
The Taoiseach was talking through his—
He was not. Deputies Gilmore and Allen are aware of people being refused planning permission for one-off housing in areas where they own farms or where they were born. I am making it clear that that is wrong and will not be tolerated by the Government.
The second point is that people are now moving into different areas of the country, setting up businesses or working as part of major infrastructural developments, who would like the choice of building in those areas. They should be allowed to build houses.
That is not what the Taoiseach said.
I do not need legislation to do that. It appears the Deputies want to tie everything up when this is a matter of common sense, interpretation and delivery. The policy of the Government was set out when we came into office and launched the national spatial strategy. I am amplifying that to give clarity to everyone on one-off rural housing. For the benefit of the Deputies, there is a fundamental change. I am not going to allow local authorities to prevent people born, reared and living in areas from building houses in those areas. That is the big change.
