Danny Healy-Rae on levies, planning rules blocking rural homes
Danny Healy-Rae spoke in the Dáil about barriers to rural housing, criticising the urban generated pressure clause and the cost of levies. He argued Irish Water charges, VAT and local levies are pricing young couples out of building their own homes and cited sewer scheme failures that block development.
Planning restrictions
He criticised the urban generated pressure clause for preventing people from getting planning permission close to their family homes if they do not own the neighbouring land, saying the rule deprives rural people of opportunities to build.
Cost of levies and charges
He warned that county council levies, Irish Water charges and VAT are an "exorbitant cost" and insisted these charges can make up more than a third of the cost of building a house, ruling many young couples out of building.
Local sewer infrastructure failures
He listed multiple towns and villages with inadequate sewer schemes - including Cora North, Scotty Green, Brasford, Cahar Daniels and Kinmeyer - and said lack of adequate sewerage prevents new developments even where demand exists.
Impact on rural communities
He argued the combination of planning clauses, high levies and failing sewer infrastructure is harming rural communities by blocking young people from building homes close to where they grew up, and he urged the minister to address these obstacles.
Tone and urgency
Throughout the speech he expressed frustration and urgency about the practical barriers to rural housing and repeatedly pressed the issue in address to the minister.
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I'm glad to get the opportunity to talk today on this very important matter. And Minister, I said to, we are talking about housing and there are a big cohort of people, youngsters in Kerry, that can't get planning permission very close to their homes because of this thing called an urban generated pressure clause which deprives people, it's there to deprive people from coming out from towns and building in rural areas, which is affecting the people in the rural areas as well because if you're not a son or a daughter, you can't buy a site or won't get planning permission from a site next door to yourself, just because you didn't own the land. So that's one reason. Levies are an exorbitant cost now, they're so high, whether it's the county council levies and people in rural areas are asked to pay for amenities in urban areas. And that's wrong. And the cost of the levies that are being imposed by Irish Water and the VAT, it's making up more than the third of the cost of the house. And it's ruling many young couples out from building their own house which they want to do. And again then, as has been mentioned before, there are so many of our towns and villages don't have sewer schemes or adequate sewer schemes. Take places like Cora North sewer schemes, Scotty Green, Brasford, Cahar Daniels, so many places in trouble. Even if we wanted to build a development in the town of Kinmeyer, you can't because the sewer scheme isn't adequate. I'm moving on. I'm moving on. I'm moving on. I'm moving on.
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