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Government to make cabin homes in back gardens exempt from planning

The minister believes there needs to be planning exemptions to allow family members to live together on the same site.

DETACHED CABINS AND modular style buildings placed at the end of gardens are set to be exempt from planning under new measures being considered by government. 

Currently, planning exemptions allow a 40 square metre extension to the rear of a property once it’s attached to the house. 

The new Minister of State at the Department of Housing, with responsibility for planning, John Cummins wants new planning regulations which would remove the requirement for the extension to be attached to the main dwelling.

However, there is an acknowledgement that such a measure will only be appropriate in certain settings where there is sufficient space to the rear of the property.

Under the current rules, a freestanding building can be built in an area of 25sqm before planning permission is needed.

Young people 

It is being viewed as one measure that could provide an alternative housing option which would enable both younger and older generations to live within their own communities and close to family.

Sources were at pains to emphasise that this is not being viewed as a silver bullet in terms of housing solutions, but that detached cabin or modular style structures are a consideration for some. 

A source said: “The minister has made it clear that there needs to be planning exemptions which enable intergenerational movement between the main dwelling house and the smaller home which would be situated to the rear of the property.

“This would allow for a younger person to live independently of the family home in the short-term and will give the option for their parents in time to right-size within their own community while maintaining the support of their family in close proximity.”

Cummins has met with officials in recent days to explore how to expedite the measure as soon as possible, though it is likely to be done in the context of the new Planning and Development Act which was passed by the Oireachtas late last year.

Programme for government

The Programme for Government commits to examining how to exempt the development of a building or structure to the rear of a dwelling so that it does not need to be physically attached to the main dwelling house.

It’s understood officials are finalising a paper on the matter and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage will soon request submissions from all government departments.

The Journal understands that officials in the department are supportive of such a move, with a public consultation also due to take place.

However, sources have said the minister is eager to get the exemptions in place as quickly as possible.

It’s among one of many measures the minister is focusing on, including the implementation of the Planning and Development Act 2024 and the revised National Planning Framework, which seeks to ensure there is a sufficient amount of zoned and serviced land to increase housing output.

He is also seeking to bring forward greater CPO powers to activate underutilised land.

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    Mute Pl O'neill
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    May 23rd 2019, 7:31 PM

    From what I have seem of Maria , regardless of her sexuality she doesn’t know much about politics

    447
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    Mute The long walk home☘️
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    May 23rd 2019, 8:52 PM

    @Pl O’neill: I’d love to know who would have heard of these adds before FG’s intervention, didn’t appear on my FB. Like you her sexuality has little to do with it , David Norris has done a great service to this country, She is simply out of her Depth.

    173
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    Mute Seamus Murphy
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    May 24th 2019, 9:03 AM

    @The long walk home☘️: what did David Norris ever do bar collect his money?

    16
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    Mute ciar0
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    May 23rd 2019, 7:34 PM

    FG complaint is incorrect.
    There is no attack on her based on her sexuality.
    In fact the website references her total lack of qualifications for the job and her lie about her business.

    Well done Facebook

    226
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    Mute Karen Wellington
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    May 23rd 2019, 7:43 PM

    @ciar0: he mentions LGBT in every other sentence.
    “Maria has made clear that her aims include to annoy those who, because of conservative beliefs, cannot approve of the homosexual lifestyle.”
    “Maria has visited multiple schools promoting LGBT issues, and encouraging youth to question their beliefs and adopt new “values” with measures such as the raising of the LGBT flag outside the school.”
    “Maria has declared herself to be a homosexual woman. She was in a relationship with another woman, TV producer Shauna Keogh, for some time after winning the Rose of Tralee. Last year, she stated that she was no longer with Shauna but was looking for somebody else.”

    55
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    Mute ciar0
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    May 23rd 2019, 7:46 PM

    @Karen Wellington: and are these incorrect?

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    Mute Karen Wellington
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    May 23rd 2019, 8:10 PM

    @ciar0: I suppose the third quote might be true but it’s also completely irrelevant. The rest is a smear campaign. There are plenty of great reasons not to vote for her, or FG (& FF) for that matter, her sexuality is not one of them.

    56
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    Mute SFNutters
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    May 23rd 2019, 8:21 PM

    @Karen Wellington: did I miss the bit where they said don’t vote for her because she is gay? A straight person could promote all those agendas and be canvassed agsinst for the same reason.

    43
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    Mute Karen Wellington
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    May 23rd 2019, 8:31 PM

    @SFNutters: the entire website say don’t vote for her and the reasons given include “The goal of most LGBT activists is that people would be coerced into accepting immorality as if it were morality and subsequently give up their own ability to distinguish between right and wrong.”

    29
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    Mute SFNutters
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    May 23rd 2019, 9:47 PM

    @Karen Wellington: where is the part that says don’t vote for her because she is gay…LGBT activists could be straight or gay or any of the other options.

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    Mute Karen Wellington
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    May 23rd 2019, 10:32 PM

    @SFNutters: and yet he felt the need to mention that she’s ‘gay’ (inverted commas are Burkes addition, not mine) more than half a dozen times. If you can’t get your head around the circumlocution Burke’s using to obfuscate the vitriol in his rhetoric then good for you; you’re the better for not having understood his bile, but I’m not in a position to explain it to you as I have neither the patience or the necessary sna training.

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    Mute John Kelly
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    May 24th 2019, 8:45 AM

    @Karen Wellington: similar to Maria,Kate is also out of her depth.

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    Mute Garreth Mc Mahon
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    May 23rd 2019, 6:48 PM

    Facebook should also name who published the advert so they can be taken to task on a public forum(media, print media)

    105
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    Mute steve white
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    May 23rd 2019, 6:54 PM

    @Garreth Mc Mahon: the person who paid for the ads is named in the facebook ad library just put in maria walsh and scroll down.

    53
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    Mute Karen Wellington
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    May 23rd 2019, 7:09 PM

    @Garreth Mc Mahon: Enoch Burke. He’s a headcase and he’s not ashamed to let people know it, he put his name on the website.

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    Mute Bruce van der Gutschmitzer
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    May 23rd 2019, 7:19 PM

    @Karen Wellington: anything to Enoch Powell??

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    Mute Karen Wellington
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    May 23rd 2019, 7:36 PM

    @Bruce van der Gutschmitzer: Burke would not supported Powell’s stance on homosexuality (Powell is the moderate in this instance).

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    Mute filthypete
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    May 24th 2019, 7:27 AM

    @steve white: I’ve yet to hear of a good Enoch or eunuch. Tough name to give a kid.

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    Mute Rachel O' Meara
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    May 23rd 2019, 7:53 PM

    Can we ban her ads? Do you remember tamagotchi’s, black Jack’s and fruit salads? Me too, now that we’ve established we’re roughly the same age vote for me because I’m groovy and down with the 90′s kids…..The bang of desperation off of her is overpowering.

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    Mute James Wallace
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    May 23rd 2019, 8:09 PM

    @Rachel O’ Meara: all of which might be true but it does not entitle someone to single her out and target her because of her sexuality.

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    Mute Rachel O' Meara
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    May 23rd 2019, 8:21 PM

    @James Wallace: I wasn’t commenting on her sexuality just her crap campaigning abilities. I honestly couldn’t give a fiddlers if she’s gay.

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    Mute James Wallace
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    May 23rd 2019, 10:27 PM

    @Rachel O’ Meara: but that’s the entire point of this thread: she was targeted and singled out because of her sexuality.

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    Mute Rachel O' Meara
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    May 24th 2019, 8:40 AM

    @James Wallace: It’s about the story yeah but it’s also about her and her campaign, just expressing my two cents on what I thought about it.

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    Mute Daithi Ó Raghallaigh
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    May 23rd 2019, 7:38 PM

    Mother off God she was destroying an chance if getting elected all on her own. Her only policy seemed to be attack Peter Casey. Is this an effort to drum up support out if sympathy for her.

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    Mute James Wallace
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    May 23rd 2019, 8:01 PM

    @Daithi Ó Raghallaigh: ask Enoch Burke that question. FG didn’t create the website, he did

    32
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    Mute The long walk home☘️
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    May 23rd 2019, 8:54 PM

    @James Wallace: FG made an intervention with the hosts giving this oxygen

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    Mute Martin Meyler
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    May 23rd 2019, 9:59 PM

    @James Wallace: Burke is an utter and complete bollix from a family of super religious nutjobs.

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    Mute James Wallace
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    May 23rd 2019, 10:26 PM

    @The long walk home☘️: yes they did, but the initial targeting of her by Burke is the problem. People are choosing not to see this because of their hatred for FG

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    Mute Robert Phelan
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    May 23rd 2019, 7:01 PM

    Facebook is right in this case. censorship for nothing poor poor fg

    133
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    Mute James Wallace
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    May 23rd 2019, 7:27 PM

    @Robert Phelan: do you think it’s ok for a person to be targeted solely on the grounds of their sexuality?

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    Mute Robert Phelan
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    May 23rd 2019, 9:12 PM

    @James Wallace: oh she’ll get over it james.you know that saying”stick’s and stones will break my bones,but name’s will never hurt me”.

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    Mute James Wallace
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    May 23rd 2019, 10:24 PM

    @Robert Phelan: so going after one candidate, chosen as a target because of her sexuality, is ok by you then? Just to clarify.
    Next up, Ronert Phelan justifies bullying in the classroom and racism, because, you know sticks and stones etc

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    Mute Cathal
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    May 23rd 2019, 7:08 PM

    Being used to canvas late in the day ,is this spin?

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    Mute James Wallace
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    May 23rd 2019, 8:06 PM

    @Cathal: No but I can imagine there are people out there dim enough to think that.

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    Mute Barry Somers
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    May 23rd 2019, 8:07 PM

    @Cathal: No, its a smear campaign against Maria Walsh.
    I don’t even vote FG and I can see that

    21
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    Mute BreadBasketCase
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    May 23rd 2019, 6:58 PM

    Facebook advertising does not have the power to influence elections. Maybe a few dozen would be swayed by what they saw on it. So pathetic to get all uppity over it.

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    Mute Aisling
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    May 23rd 2019, 6:59 PM

    @BreadBasketCase: any influence at all is unacceptable and we should always challenge it.

    53
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    Mute ForeverFeel1ng
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    May 23rd 2019, 7:24 PM

    @BreadBasketCase: I work in advertising and Believe me it does. Facebook is a leisure platform, people don’t consume content on it with the same mental barriers up as when they read a news site. There’s a psychological lack of distrust due to the nature of the platform combining your personal lives (friends posts, cute pictures) with news and advertisements.

    People don’t even realise they’re being fed pre-selected content. It’s what makes Facebook such a profitable platform to advertise on.

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    Mute James Wallace
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    May 23rd 2019, 7:26 PM

    @BreadBasketCase: your missing the point that she is being targeted because of her sexuality, no other reason.

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    Mute SFNutters
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    May 23rd 2019, 7:28 PM

    @Aisling: any influence? then all ads should be banned.

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    Mute Aisling
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    May 23rd 2019, 7:45 PM

    @SFNutters: I’m clearly referring to elections, that’s what this article is about.

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    Mute SFNutters
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    May 23rd 2019, 8:17 PM

    @Aisling: so am I..if your going to ban ads that influence voters then all ads, leaflets, posters etc would be banned.

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    Mute Karen Wellington
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    May 23rd 2019, 8:36 PM

    @SFNutters: start with the posters….

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    Mute Felicity Rawson
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    May 23rd 2019, 6:59 PM

    It is up this evening, I got it in my feed just now, and reported it as a scam anyway. Disingenuous scunners (and for once, I’m not talking about Fine Gael)

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    Mute Pip
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    May 23rd 2019, 10:47 PM

    This has Leo all over it. She’s a flop and he knows it, time to wheel out the sympathy vote campaign. Wait till you see how many fools fall for it and land us another useless MEP

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    Mute Johnny Conway
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    May 23rd 2019, 9:29 PM

    It’s all a publicity stunt.
    She’s banging leo

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    Mute Johnny Conway
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    May 23rd 2019, 9:30 PM

    Toxic

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    Mute Doire
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    May 23rd 2019, 9:36 PM

    Having met Maria on couple occasions i believe politics wont be her game. FG have sucked her in for cheap publicity. On another note she in stunning when you meet her face to face. Tv presenting could be a career choice.

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    Mute Vinny Lawlor
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    May 24th 2019, 12:04 AM

    It’s a terrible state of things when Facebook are deemed the moral decision maker between two standpoints – able to advertise a gay woman and her policies or allow political attack for same

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    Mute Johnny Conway
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    May 23rd 2019, 9:30 PM

    Hfyjjbh

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    Mute TheCraftyCulchie
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    May 24th 2019, 12:28 AM

    Her appearance on The week in politics a few weeks back showed she has no place in irish politics. It’s amazing that you would seek political office and still be unable to answer the most basic of political questions!! Celebrity candidate if ever there was one. Seems nice enough though

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