Kerry County Council is to allow houses for genuine family members to be built in designated Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and high amenity areas following an agreement reached between councillors and the new county manager, Mr Martin Riordan.
The move was welcomed by the council's strongest advocates of one-off housing in the countryside, including Mr Michael Healy-Rae, the Independent councillor.
Genuine family members, Mr Riordan said, would "begin with sons and daughters" of landholders but other relations might be facilitated on family-owned land holdings "if at all possible". Family members must be genuinely seeking a permanent home on the land.
Councillors were told by Mr Riordan that priority was to be given to this category and planning was to be granted to them "subject only to road safety and public health issues".
Many of the SACs, which make up much of south and west Kerry, and other areas of high amenity are prime wildlife conservation areas which have legal protection, but the priority would be for family members in Kerry to build houses, he said.
"The council has clearly stated that they wish this category to be given priority in implementation of planning policy," Mr Riordan stated, outlining the new provisions, which are aimed at ending the bitter controversy between councillors and officials over planning issues in Kerry over the few years.
Mr Riordan said he was looking at the possibility of imposing "an in perpetuity" condition which would only be removed when there was a change in circumstances, such as when a person had to change job to another area.
Under the new provisions, planners will hold on-site meetings with applicants before an application is submitted. This is to minimise cost and effort on the part of applicants.
Up to 75 per cent of a decision on an application could be made at this pre-planning consultation, Mr Riordan said.
Four extra planning staff are also to be appointed and forward planning for villages is to be given priority.
The leader of Fianna Fáil in the council, Cllr Paul O'Donoghue, suggested agents for applicants should attend site meetings so that applications with no chance of being successful were not submitted.
Labour Cllr Pat Leahy, however, said pre-planning meetings in the past had been available and still applications were refused.
While he welcomed the proposals, he hoped there would not be similar refusals in the future.
Ms Tearaoise Ferris (SF) said it would do much for people who had the privilege of owning land.