Mattie McGrath condemns planning rules as rural man faces jail
Mattie McGrath spoke in the Dáil on 12 June 2024 about planning legislation and its impact on rural residents. He opposed the bill and warned it would criminalise people like Sean Meehan and restrict local debate on the national planning framework.
Case raised by speaker
The speaker described the case of Sean Meehan in Tipperary, saying Mr Meehan lives in the country in a long cabin and was ordered by a judge to reapply for planning permission. He said the application was refused again for lack of a social need despite Mr Meehan living in the area, having a legal separation, buying a site and erecting a lock-up.
Reasons for refusal cited
The speaker said planners refused the application on aesthetic grounds and concerns that the timber structure might deteriorate rapidly, even though alternatives such as cement were discussed earlier in the process.
Emergency cabins nearby
He contrasted Mr Meehan's refusal with emergency measures that allowed 62 cabins to be built in Clonmel five or six miles away, arguing the outcomes were inconsistent and left Mr Meehan without local options.
Appeal and consequences
The speaker said Mr Meehan must appeal to board Penola and warned that failure could leave the 60-year-old facing jail, being placed on the housing list, or sleeping under the main guard in Clonmel. He described the situation as shameful and called for a review of planning guidelines after they have bedded in.
Speaker's stance and parliamentary critique
He said he would not vote for the legislation, likening support to "truckies voting for Christmas," and accused the minister of trying to remove embarrassment from backbenchers and future government backbenchers. He also said local attempts to raise the issue at council level had been shot down, limiting debate on location and national planning framework matters in the chamber.
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I would like to come back here, and I agree with Deputy O'Brien and Deputy Healy-Way, you don't want to, Minister, you want to take away the embarrassment from your own backbenchers and future government-backbenchers for supporting this kind of legislation, and certainly it's like voting, I won't be voting for this, it's like truckies voting for Christmas, and I have a case, and, and, and, which I'm provisioning in Hong Kong, of Sean Meehan in Tipperary, he's not in, he's not affected by this, um, strict urban designated pressuraries, he's out in the country, he's in a long cabin, and he's facing jail, so he, the judge ordered him to, asked him to reapply for planning, which he did, and lo and behold, today he's refused again for the same reasons, uh, of being, um, of not having a social need, even though he lived in that area on his life, had a, um, legal separation and all everything above board, and bought a site and put a lock up on it, they're all just now, the second case they put in, they had agreed, suggested that they might agree to, it'd been rendered, it would look, uh, better, however, cement would look better, better than timber in the country, I don't know, and now he, uh, they have refused them on that grounds as well, that is not aesthetically suitable, and it might deteriorate rapidly, and yet at the same time, they can put up, under, uh, emergency legislation, you can build 62 cabins in Clonmel, five or six miles away from him, this man will be homeless, he's 60 years, 60 years of, 60 years of age, and if we pass this legislation here to Europe, there'll be many more Sean Meehans, and, under the, the, the, the urban, the, the pressure areas, but this is outrageous, and we know, we can't, my own daughter, Councillor Monty McGrath tried to raise the council meeting, shot down, so here, we won't be able to, discuss issues, here in the chamber, either, it's such an issue of a national planning framework, and we can't debate, uh, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the locations of it, we should be having a review of it, first of all, after bedding in, but, in the case of Sean Meehan, I think it's outrageous, that now he has to appeal to board Penola again, and hope and pray that board Penola might grant him a house, otherwise, he has, he's threatened, he's sentenced to prison, but he'd have to go to, um, go on the housing list, or sleep under the main guard in Clonmel, an appalling vista, in Ireland today, and I've raised this view a number of times, Minister, you promised that you'd changed the planning guidelines, and you haven't, I think it's a shameful situation that Mr Meehan is facing, thank you.
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