Rural Planning: Statements
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-10
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Mike Kennelly (FG), Labour Panel

I welcome the Minister of State and I acknowledge the work that has been done. This is reform. It is the best thing that has happened. We have had a housing issue in this country for the past number of years. I congratulate the Minister of State on the work he has been doing in this Government. With all the toing and froing, this is welcome news. Most importantly, Kerry, which I proudly represent, was said to be, even today, and I circulated this recently, the third best county to live in. It reflects the very strong communities we are building at the moment. Last year, construction was begun on only 297 homes in Kerry, but between January and April 2026, over 400 commencement notices were issued. That is something that is working and that has to be acknowledged.
However we have serious other constraints in sustaining rural communities. I spent over 16 years as a councillor in Kerry and planning was always a very serious issue when the son or daughter could not built next to mom and dad. There was a big difference between some councils. In Kerry, it was no bother if we had the son or daughter or the nephew or niece, but if you owned a farm along the national routes into Kerry, and your son or daughter wanted to inherit and work that farm, they could not build a house on it due to constraints from TII. That has to be in the guidelines. I hope it will be reviewed again before the guidelines come out and there is an agreement with TII.
On the GAA, I am from Kerry and depopulation is killing it, especially in villages. If we do not bring Uisce Éireann to every county council and local authority, then this will continue. It did not invest for years. I could go on.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-10/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:02+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-10