With the Oireachtas and Drapier on their holidays, this column has beenhanded over to backbenchers to use as a soapbox. This week Maire Hoctor defends the tradition of one-off rural housing
The landscape of Ireland has intrigued artists from all over the world who, over the years, have captured its unique beauty through photography, poetry, or painted canvas. Landscapes evolve with each new generation of inhabitants. In the constancy of this evolution, we are called to shape and mould our habitat in accordance with genuine need, with the ultimate aim to impact positively on the landscape. Informed action must follow assessment of the scale of need so that the necessary resources are allocated to create a sustainable environment.
The three-to-five year revision of the county development plans, and more recently the preparation of the regional planning guidelines, currently the focus of the regional authorities, are real attempts proactively to lead the evolution, taking action on the ground to achieve harmony. We need to make best use of natural resources, bring jobs closer to where people live, and ensure a high-quality natural and built environment.
There has been a greater emphasis on and awareness of rural areas and their needs in recent years. This has been a very welcome development. The appointment of a Cabinet minister with responsibility for rural development provided further substantial evidence of this new emphasis. The new Department's accent on people and community is a particularly positive outcome.
Last year's National Spatial Strategy particularly emphasised the concept of "hubs" and "gateways". Words that you will not find within the document but terms we ought to remember are "townlands" and "parishes".
The countryside of the dispersed village or townland, or "baile fearann", is as real to those who live in it as the town or city is to urban dwellers. Traditional loyalties to townland, parish and county have been a binding force in Ireland over the last 100 years and have been a major motivational force in social and economic development. One has only to visit the vibrant Arts Festival in Terryglass this weekend to see a shining example of what may be achieved by a committed rural community.
Townlands which consist of scattered households or "one-off" housing have been a part of our history for over 5,000 years. By contrast towns and close-knit villages really only date back 1,000 years or so.
As is the case with urban development, I believe rural housing should be carefully regulated. I would not advocate an unfettered and unrestricted approach. Clearly, planning conditions must be attached and parameters must be set in terms of design and the building materials used.
There is no doubt that rural housing is more obtrusive than it needs to be. There seems to be a fixed line with house frontage directed at the road. In older settlements we used to see houses side on to the road - think of the numerous derelict cottages still visible today, nestled discreetly at a distance from the road, which were once the humming homesteads of former generations. A straight-lined and symmetrical approach is not in keeping with the landscape.
It is also essential that planning permission for rural housing should go to those who want to live and work in the community. I am very wary of urban generated one-off housing. In many cases the residents of such housing show scant respect for or understanding of farming practices and the way of life in the country. People need to realise that the smell of silage is as much a part of country life as the scent of honeysuckle.
However, respect for our traditions compels us to face down equally extreme and dogmatic attitudes that favour outright prohibition of one-off housing. It is highly galling for families who have lived in their locality for generations to be subjected to scrutiny by people who very often live in single one-off country dwellings themselves.
It would appear that the recently reported drop in membership of An Taisce in Co Clare is a consequence of the strong opposition by the public to the heritage watchdog's prohibitive stance on one-off housing and other related planning matters.
Earlier this year, at a conference in Nenagh hosted by North Tipperary County Council, Dr Seamus Caulfield, a retired professor of archaeology at University College Dublin, said parishes throughout the State could experience a 20 per cent population decrease over the next 10 years if one-off rural housing is not permitted. Dr Caulfield emphasised that in recent years planners were using British planning models that accentuate settlement in urban areas - nucleation settlements.
These models do not lend themselves to Ireland because over 40 per cent of the population is rural, as opposed to a predominantly urban population in Britain of 90 per cent.
The spectre of depopulation is too awful to contemplate. It will lead to the demise of community groups, GAA clubs and rural schools. We simply cannot allow this to happen. We have to remember that the countryside is a living entity, it is not to be a wilderness attraction or theme park for weekending urban dwellers.
Regulation has its place and it is vital for sustainable development. However, the balance needs to swing back towards the residents of rural areas. I do not accept that one-off housing will lead to the desecration of our countryside.
Addressing and assessing the dimension of need and reaching agreement on what is realistically achievable is the key to progress. In this context, I believe that landowners must play a more active role in planning ahead as to their future long-term needs for houses for their families.
We rightly hear much talk of tolerating cultural diversity in Ireland. That should apply to our own culture as well, and scattered settlement is an intrinsic part of our customs and way of life. The diversity of opinion will be truly aired only through assertive participation from elected members, planners, landowners and all who hold a deep interest in the nature of the imprint we will leave behind, an imprint which, we would like to believe, is left by progressive settlers, lyrical in our relationship with nature, with our feet firmly planted on the ground.
Maire Hoctor is Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary North.
Next week: Eamon Ryan TD (Green)