Harkin TD welcomes easing of planning regulations for one-off houses

national | environment | news report Friday January 09, 2004 11:12 by rayo

Easing of planning regulations governing the building of one-off houses in the countryside were essential if stability in the rural population was to be maintained or regained. This was stated by Independent Sligo/Leitrim TD Marian Harkin, when she welcomed reports that new guidelines from the Department of the Environment would ease current restrictions on house building in the countryside. She said that there was an appalling lack of accurate information concerning the numbers of one-off houses or of their environmental implications.

"At a recent meeting of the Dail Environment Committee it emerged that none of the Government or planning bodies could say how many one-off houses are being built and it showed that figures being used by those campaigning against rural housing had no validation whatever", she said.

As a result An Bord Pleanala was to carry out a study to ascertain the numbers being built which would provide a basis for future planning policy, Deputy Harkin said. "As a member of the National Executive of the Irish Rural Dwellers Association I am very pleased that our contention that inaccurate statistics were being used to restrict the building of one off houses has been validated and that this and other arguments made by the IRDA will significantly influence the new guidelines to be announced shortly", Deputy Harkin said.

Despite continued assertions, by the same people who put forward inaccurate statistics on house numbers, that septic tanks were a significant pollutant of ground water, the Environmental Protection Agency’s view was that septic tanks, properly installed and maintained caused no problems and were fully capable of ensuring that they created no threat to groundwater, she said.