A Nenagh councillor tells Selfbuild that red tape, land rules and poor infrastructure are driving people away from building their own home.
In this article we cover:
- Why local need rules are ‘crap’ and why we need a ‘dose of cop-on’ to get people building
- Calls to suspend aspects of the National Development Plan to allow more rural housing
- Key planning and infrastructure barriers facing self-builders in rural Ireland
- Why current wastewater and water capacity limits are stalling development in North Tipperary
- How ribbon development restrictions are putting off self-builds
- Suggestions for policy changes to support self-builders during the housing crisis
The current planning system is locking out aspiring rural homeowners and forcing the next generation to leave Ireland, according to councillor Séamus Morris of Nenagh Municipal District, who has called for an urgent overhaul of national policy to support self-builders.
Speaking in the wake of a recent council debate on housing and infrastructure shortfalls, Cllr Morris said people trying to build homes in rural areas are being “tormented” by restrictive planning laws and spiralling costs – a combination he fears is pushing skilled young people out of the country.
“God help anyone trying to build anywhere at any time now,” he told Selfbuild. “It’s such a challenge – planning permission, Irish Water and ESB connections, and the absolute cost of it. That’s before you even get to the issue of capacity in wastewater treatment plants.”
We’re losing highly trained professional people because of their inability to self-build.
Infrastructure bottlenecks undermine national targets
Cllr Morris was critical of the National Development Plan’s aim to deliver at least 40 per cent of housing within existing built up areas such as towns and villages.
“That’s not possible when the wastewater treatment plants and water capacity are an issue,” he said. “In the Nenagh Municipal District, we have wastewater treatment plants that lack capacity. There’s no point asking people to build in these areas while refusing them permission to build on their own land.”
He believes the solution lies in supporting people who already have access to land and want to stay local.
“I am looking for a suspension of the National Development Plan so that people who can come up with a site should be able to build. In fact, we should be putting our arms around them, rolling out the carpet, and thanking them,” he said.
“Because most of these people will stay in the country and they will have the ability to grow villages in rural Ireland.”
The alternative, he warned, is emigration. “Basically, we have two choices: either allow these people to build or lose them for good. Otherwise, they’re living in their parents’ back kitchens and their childhood bedrooms. We’re losing highly trained professional people because of their inability to self-build.”
‘Get rid of this local need crap’
The Tipperary councillor also called for an end to what he sees as out-of-touch planning criteria that exclude many rural applicants. “We have to get rid of this ‘local need’ crap,” he said. “You can’t get planning permission in rural Ireland unless you’re almost a full-time farmer. That has to go.”
He also criticised restrictions on ribbon development – which limit the number of houses allowed along rural roads – and wants such rules suspended during the housing crisis. “All of those things need to be withdrawn. We are in a housing crisis.”
Cllr Morris said many people don’t even apply for planning because they know they won’t qualify.
“I know several people who told me during my canvass that they didn’t even bother trying because their son or daughter isn’t in full-time farming,” he said. “These people aren’t even statistics – the only statistic they become is when they leave the country.”
Policy contradictions
Reflecting on the recent county and local area development plans, Cllr Morris said his calls to protect zoned and serviced land were ignored – only for the government to backpedal later.
“I asked the council not to dezone land during a housing crisis – they didn’t listen. Now the housing minister, James Browne, is talking about enforcing Section 28 to rezone land that was just dezoned. Are they trying to torment people or what?”
He believes the government’s missteps are fuelling public frustration and boosting extremist narratives. “What’s happening is we’re driving people into the arms of right-wing lunatics,” he said. “We’re bringing people into the country under EU emergency legislation – and I embrace every person in our country – but at the same time, we’re not relaxing planning laws to let our own build.”
There’s this thing in Ireland where we seem to feel that a rural house is a threat to the world – it’s not.
Time for ‘a dose of cop-on’
With house building now out of reach for many without government support, Cllr Morris expects development levies and water charges are here to stay – but insists planning reform must come first.
“We need a huge dose of cop-on,” he said. “You can’t promise tens of thousands of new houses without checking what capacity exists in our water and wastewater plants in each town and village. That’s where the money should be going.”
He also defended rural one-off housing when done near family land or in clusters. “There’s this thing in Ireland where we seem to feel that a rural house is a threat to the world – it’s not,” he said. “I don’t know of any river that’s been poisoned because of a house.”
“I’m not talking about building on top of mountains – I’m talking about people building near family plots, maybe a few houses together off a village. There are ways to do this. At the end of the day, we need to do everything we can to keep our children in our country.”
