Minister for Housing, James Browne, has committed to relaxing rules around building one-off houses in rural areas by summer 2026.
Speaking last week to national media, Minister Browne said “We have existing guidelines which have become quite outdated and have been interpreted and reinterpreted. Every local authority now has a different interpretation of what those are”.
“I want to bring consistency back into it, to give people much greater freedom to live in their own local community. In a lot of areas that has become impossible.”
Minister Browne also confirmed that these policy changes will be mandatory for Local Authorities, as government push for more houses to be built in rural areas, especially by families who have strong ties to the community.
Controversy
This major shift in housing policy is already proving controversial.
Macra, a farming organisation for young people, has welcomed the announcement, suggesting it offers hope to rural Ireland's younger generation.
“Macra has long recognised that young people will play a key role in ensuring rural vibrancy and social sustainability in local communities,” said Macra National President Josephine O’Neil. “However, many young people experience significant challenges in building their own home under the current guidelines, so we welcome the promise of these guidelines being relaxed.
“The relaxation of this guideline is a positive step, but we now need the delivery of the Rural Planning Guidelines to ensure there is a clear pathway to planning for young people”, stated Ms O’Neill.
Speaking in the national media, prominent critics have suggested that these changes may win votes but will ultimately not address the housing crisis, and may actually damage rural communities by encouraging the construction of isolated houses.
The government’s own Project Ireland 2040: National Planning Framework explains that some rural areas are “fragile”, as “almost all recent single housing in the countryside has been developed privately, with social housing provided largely in settlements”.
“In many parts of rural Ireland, where a significant majority of housing output is in the countryside, this has contributed to spatial and social imbalance and the decline in population of smaller settlements.
“As a result, many key services have closed, in part due to population decline, leaving more marginalised and vulnerable citizens without access to those services.”
Paper 13 commissioned by the National Planning Framework, Rural and Urban Roles, also explains that one in three houses in Ireland is being built in the open countryside, and that this presents “profound challenges in terms of arriving at a settlement structure that is sustainable, serviceable and in terms of resolving appropriate settlement roles for areas both urban and rural.
Waterford Families
The Munster Express approached Waterford TD and Minster of State at the Department of Housing, John Cummins, for a comment in relation to the issue.
Minister Cummins seemed aware of the need for balance as he pledged that one-off housing would not come at the expense of more concentrated rural developments.
Minister John Cummins said: "As Minister with responsibility for Planning, I can confirm that I am working on revised Rural Planning Guidelines, which will take the form of a National Planning Statement”.
"Fine Gael and our partners in government are determined to ensure that we have a standardised approach to rural housing across the country, one which will make it easier for people to build a home on their own land,” Minister Cummins said.
"It is important to say that 5,000-6,000 one off houses are constructed each year in Ireland but there is of course capacity to facilitate more, not at the expense of our rural towns and villages, but to compliment and sustain rural communities, supporting local towns, villages, schools and sports clubs.
"Another area where I am cutting red tape in the planning system is in the area of exempted development where I will shortly facilitate the construction of modular housing units to the rear of a residential property. This will provide a practical option for individuals and their families and will complement the work being undertaken on the wider rural housing policy,” Minister Cummins added.
AARON KENT
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
