Verona Murphy said current rural housing policy is failing and is restricting local people's access to planning permission for one-off homes. She argued the measures have driven up costs, allowed buyers from elsewhere to buy local properties, and left returning families trapped in rental limbo.
Policy failure observed
Murphy told the programme that the policy was intended to stop the gazumping of site prices but has had the opposite effect - "the policy just isn't working," she said, arguing it has restricted how locals can build.
Local impact and planning rules
Murphy highlighted that someone taking over the family farm may be afforded planning, while siblings offered a site by their parents will not unless they meet very strict criteria. She said these rules are preventing ordinary local arrangements and blocking access for people with ties to their communities.
Outsiders buying local properties
Murphy said buyers are coming from all over the country, particularly in Wexler, and are buying second-hand properties at higher prices because they cannot get planning permission for new sites. She gave the example of a young couple who returned from abroad, have two children and are stuck in rental limbo because they cannot afford a house.
Infrastructure and planning decisions
Murphy blamed a lack of infrastructure support - including water - and criticised local development plan decisions. She said councillors were urged not to de-zone service sites, yet four years later the minister is asking the same councillors to re-zone lands, a turnaround she described as chaotic.
Cost consequences
Murphy argued that the net effect of these policy and planning changes has been to drive up costs and make it harder for local people to secure affordable homes in rural areas.
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Verona Murphy, one of the issues that came up quite a bit in the various people that we've been speaking to for our reports for the programme this evening was rural housing and one-off housing and the difficulty with getting planning permission. What do you think about that? Should people be allowed easier access to build homes in rural Ireland? Well, I think the policy just isn't working. I mean, much of the policy was brought in to stop the gazumping of the price of sites available to local people in rural areas. It's had the opposite impact. The locals are now restricted in how they can build, whereby every second-hand property is being bought up by someone from outside the community at a much higher cost on the basis that they can't get planning permission. So nothing's actually working. We have a situation where the person who may take over the family farm will be afforded planning, but his siblings, if they're being offered a site by their parents, will not unless they meet a very strict criteria. And when you say people outside the community are buying, do you mean people from outside Dublin or outside the country? Who are people coming in? From all over the country, particularly in Wexler. I spoke to a lovely couple last night who have a new baby, who've been abroad, they've come back and they've had two children, and they're stuck in the rental limbo because simply they can't afford a house. So what is the fix then? What are we saying the fix is? Is it to allow people to build more one-off housing? Because we know, and I might speak to yourselves about this in a second, that comes with big problems, doesn't it? In terms of services, in terms of transport? I think the problem is that this is a government that has spent 15 years and it's hard to understand what they've actually done because we have no infrastructure in water. We have very little infrastructure to support service sites. Four years ago, when they were devising the local development plans, particularly in Wexford, I wrote to all the councillors and asked them not to de-zone service sites or sites. Don't de-zone lands. Just to finish it, now we have the minister writing to those same councillors asking them to re-zone lands. It's just crazy. Everything they did drove up the costs.
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