THE RURAL INDEPENDENTS group has led cross-party calls in the Dáil this morning for the long-awaited new rural planning guidelines to be published in order to alleviate the housing struggles in parts of Ireland that are “in decline”. 

 Sinn Féin’s housing spokesperson Eoin Ó’Broin, speaking during the debate, said that it is his understanding that the new rural planning guidelines were “ready over two years ago”, but have not been published yet due to “divisions within the backbenches of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael”. 

The rural independents brought a private member’s motion before the Dail today that called for a range of motions to be implemented in order to tackle the impact of the housing crisis in rural Ireland. 

These included the introduction of statutory timelines for An Bord Pleanála, an extension of the Help to Buy Scheme to second-hand homes, and a €20,000 grant-aid package for first-time home builders. 

The TDs also called for planning regulations to be relaxed around the construction of log cabins, which the rural independents said can be constructed “quickly and efficiently” from sustainable materials. 

Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae said that the State has to be “more open” to log and timber cabins being built as alternative forms of housing. 

“It happens in other countries. We have to realise that there is a housing crisis, and we can’t be living in this idyllic world where everything has to be as it was before. If people can put on another building at the back of another building, and a young couple can get their start in life living in that, what in the name of God is wrong with that?” He added. 

However, Labour TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin raised concerns about potential risks with planning regulations around log cabins being relaxed. 

“We can’t let that be the long term solution. In my experience, once you begin to change or to lessen or to lighten regulation around something, there will always be a cowboy somewhere who will try to abuse that,” he said. 

The Dublin Bay North TD stipulated that while in many cases log cabins might be used to house young families, in his view, there will also be a “percentage of people who will look at that as a rental income potential”. 

Ó Ríordáin further stated that the State must be sure that cabins are being constructed properly, so as to ensure they are not “firetraps”. 

Independent TD Peter Fitzgerald, from Co Louth, told the Dáil that he receives weekly calls from people about planning applications weekly because “Louth planning permission in rural areas is very strict and restrictive compared to the rest of the country”. 

He said that cabins have a low carbon footprint and are cheap to build and to heat. 

“I have been contacted by a number of constituents who have had planning applications for log cabins rejected because they are in rural areas, but not next to forests,” he said, adding that planning laws are “outdated”, and need to be updated to allow for this kind of housing. 

He said that log cabins could go a long way to solving the housing crisis in these areas, and that at present, county councils are only giving permission for them to be built in very specific circumstances. 

Rural Independent TD Richard O’ Donoghue urged the Housing Minister to “give money to local authorities, and let us take a developer led approach” in order to tackle housing shortages in rural areas. 

“Just look at all the money you are giving to developers in city based projects,” he said. 

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien rejected the suggestion that his department’s policies are “Dublin-centric”. 

“If you actually look at granted permissions last year, just sort of 7,000 for rural one off homes. 

“For the deputies to come in and suggest that there was no planning granted and no one off houses granted, that’s not correct,” he said. 

O’Brien further said that the Government has made progress with vacancy grants, which he claimed have been “very effective”. 

“We’ve over 1600 applications in and 800 of which are actually approved already and the rest have gone through the system,” he said. 

The minister added that local authorities have been briefed on changes made to the scheme, and said that a circular on these changes is being issued today.