Rural Planning: Statements
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-10
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Fiona O'Loughlin (FF), Administrative Panel

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, for being here. I also thank him and the Minister, Deputy Browne, for listening to those of us at many different parliamentary party meetings who have brought up this issue and feel very passionately that change is needed. It is not just about change, but also balance and consistency. While we believe that rural housing should be a part of addressing the housing crisis, unfortunately, there are many local authorities that feel differently about it, so there is no consistency across the country. We need change.
We understand that there have to be concerns about the environment. That needs to be taken on board, and nobody thinks any differently. However, there are consequences to the over-regulation of planning, which we are seeing happen at the moment. Families are unable to build on their own land. Young people are forced to leave their communities. There are schools losing students and GAA teams not being able to field players. There are all of these reasons. Farm succession is becoming harder and, of course, there is the intergenerational aspect where we need to have different generations living close together to support one another. Grandparents can be supported as they grow older and grandparents can help with children as they are born to the next generation.
We need more flexibility. We need to encourage more sustainable building networks. We need to reduce the pressure on the urban housing markets. That pressure is happening because the rural areas are being ignored. The greatest threat to rural Ireland is depopulation, not development. People who grow up in rural Ireland, who volunteer in their community and send their children to school should have the right to live in their own area of choice beside their friends and families. I know that the Ministers of State, Deputies O'Sullivan and Cummins, and the Minister, Deputy Browne, are working on a new statement. It would be good to get an update on where we are at now. Timing is everything and there is a level of impatience about when we can see that.

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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