Draft guidelines on housing in the countryside due to be published today will not impose a blanket ban restricting one-off houses in rural areas to people engaged in farming, writes Frank McDonald, Environment Editor.
The guidelines attempt to strike a balance between genuine housing need and the goal of restraining urban-generated housing in rural areas, particularly in the vicinity of cities and towns.
According to sources, the guidelines will not be a recipe for a free-for-all on one-off houses, but neither will they impose a blanket ban restricting such housing to those directly involved in agriculture.
The document being issued by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, draws together for the first time a range of different constraints on rural housing, such as drainage, road access and protection of heritage areas.
It recognises that the debate on one-off houses has become extremely polarised, partly because planners have failed to communicate with the wider public and are perceived as being overly rigid in their application of existing rules.
Last September, the Taoiseach said there was "no justification" for preventing the sons and daughters of farmers building houses on their land. This was arguably "the biggest issue around Ireland at the moment", he declared.
Mr Ahern also said that the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Mr Ó Cuív, represented the Fianna Fáil view in championing the cause of rural housing against environmental groups and the planning authorities.
Fine Gael also endorsed a more liberal approach. Mr Tom Hayes TD, chairman of its parliamentary party, said he was "delighted that the Government has finally decided to take action on this issue". He said he had been campaigning on behalf of the thousands who want to "build a home in their native area".