Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)

About one year ago, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government announced he would relax regulations applying to once-off housing in rural areas. Nothing of the sort occurred. My local planning officer informed me that the recent change does not make one iota of difference because he must adhere to the county development plan, with the result that people are unable to secure planning permission on sites on which they are able to provide housing for themselves. The Minister's announcement, which received considerable publicity at the time, amounted to no more than window dressing and unnecessarily raised hopes.

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