Ceisteanna ó na Comhaltaí Eile - Other Members’ Questions
Dail Éireann — 2025-12-11
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Patrick O'Donovan (FG), Limerick County

The same happened in Limerick, Waterford and everywhere else. The local authorities built what were called council cottages. In many cases, they were on farms. You gave the council half an acre or an acre. That land was transferred to the council. In return, the council built the house and you rented it and later got the option to buy it back if you were a farmer. If you were not a farmer, the council acquired a site for you. It is a matter for the councils. If they want to do that, there is no reason they cannot. The most important thing they have to do is to put in a proprietary treatment system that will pass a percolation test.
I agree with what the Deputy said about younger people especially who want to move back into their into own areas. There is a narrative out there that if you are building a one-off house, you are somehow polluting the area. That is not the case. I know exactly the types of houses the Deputy is talking about. Grants were given in the 1970s and 1980s for houses less than a particular square footage. Half of the people in the country were reared in such houses. The Deputy is absolutely right. Some of the houses that are being built at the moment are far too big in terms of their energy consumption.
The Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, is on paternity leave at the moment but he will come back to the Deputy on the issue he raised about extensions to the rear of houses and separate units. I will ask him to reply directly to the Deputy. Many of the issues that have been raised need to be contained in the county development plans of the respective county councils. They are also matters for the Government.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2025-12-11/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-11