Roscommon County Council has granted planning permission to the President, Mrs McAleese, and her family to build a house on the shores of Lough Eidin on condition that a proposed jetty would have the capacity for only one boat. A spokesman for the council said no appeals had yet be en made. Two objections were lodged against the initial application made in the name of the President's husband, Mr Martin McAleese, who gave Aras an Uachtarain as his address.
The council granted planning permission subject to 13 conditions, most of which are standard, relating to such issues as effluent treatment, drainage, tree-planting and service charges. However, one condition, "in the interest of orderly planning and development", stipulates that the proposed jetty would have the capacity for only one boat and would not be used to serve more than one boat.
It is also stipulated that the house must first be occupied by the applicant or a member of his immediate family. The final condition states that the applicant must submit a legally binding agreement preventing any further non-agricultural development on the holding for 10 years. The spokesman said the conditions were in keeping with Roscommon County Council's policy on rural housing.
The planning application was lodged in June for a two-storey 204 sq m (2,200 sq ft) house with outbuildings and a jetty, on a site three miles north-west of Carrick-on-Shannon. The house is just below the maximum qualifying size for owner-occupier tax incentives under the upper Shannon rural renewal scheme. Mrs McAleese's father was from the area and she already owns a cottage there, which was her father's family home.
A spokeswoman for the President has said it would not be a holiday home, but "a permanent home for the future".
One of the objections to the initial application was lodged by the Cork-based Friends of the Irish Environment in the name of Peter Sweetman & Associates. The other came from a private individual in Cork, who made a series of claims, one being that "the presidential car will cause traffic chaos and such rubber-necking will lead to accidents". Roscommon County Council made the decision on September 14th but permission will not be granted until a month has elapsed during which appeals, by the applicant or others, can be made to the Planning Appeals Board.