Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We are discussing Zoom meetings for county development plans. I would not be greatly in favour of them. Down through the years I have involved myself in my community in county development plans and national development plans. It is hard enough to get them to engage through public meetings not to mention Zoom-type meetings. I acknowledge it is a difficult time and we need to come up with new ideas, even though it may lead to part of the plan being delayed. Please God, this pandemic might wear off. Many issues need public debate and discussion.

Many young people in my constituency in west Cork want to set up a life in their rural communities and we need them. As the previous speaker said, our schools are closing and our sport clubs are suffering severely in rural communities, and still no one could live in a better place. I know property in west Cork is being snapped up.

In some cases people are not even coming to look at the property, such is the desire to live in a rural part of the world, which is environmentally friendly, and west Cork is in every way the perfect place for those who want to move away from crowded situations. Auctioneers I have talked to in recent months in west Cork have told me that there has been incredible demand, which they have never seen before. The bottom line is that there are still genuine applicants who need to engage properly with the process and with the development plans. They need to engage, but they have not been getting the opportunity to do so.

I have been helping some of those people to try to get their planning permission. They pass the planning stages in respect of the architectural and environmental sections, but then get stuck on the seven-year residency rule. Common sense has to apply here and that should be dropped. If someone, a young man, young woman or a young family, trying to move into a rural area shows an interest and can pass the planning stages on the architectural and environmental side of things, surely to God what is put before them then in respect of residency is like a trick card to stop those people from getting planning permission. It is unfair and it is leading to the loss of some great people in communities.

Imagine someone appointed to a rural community as a teacher, but it is necessary to travel to that community from the city or somewhere else. That is not possible. When someone gets a job, obviously their dream is to reside where they work and that is a dream and what their family would love to do. We have all had that opportunity in our time. It is, unfortunately, being refused now to these people because of a silly little clause to ensure people will be building or buying properties in and around towns and cities. This will ruin opportunities for rural communities. It is going to turn into a situation where it will not be possible to stand up and change the system and ensure that these county development plans are open and transparent in such a way as will ensure people have their chance. Opportunities on Zoom are not along that line.

I know of good housing opportunities and the Minister helped me not so long ago in respect of Bantry. I appreciate that. There is another development there which should be looked at seriously, but perhaps we will talk about opportunities like that in Bantry another day. Looking at other areas, such as Clonakilty, there is a need for 600 houses, but there is no water. There is a serious crisis there and it is something which will probably become even more so in time. I have looked at the county development plans and at a place like Ballinspittle. I have also worked with people there, but sadly there is a lack of sewerage capacity. It was some time since I looked at this, but the county development plan allows for perhaps 60 houses. It is not possible, however, to build five houses because of the issue with the sewerage capacity being full. The people there are unable to build extra houses, and that is unfair. Ballinspittle is in close proximity to Cork city, and it is very close for people who might want to work in the city and still live in a beautiful rural community.

We could also look at places like Castletownshend, Goleen and similar locations and there is also no sewerage capacity. Raw sewage is going straight into the tides. A recent report, I think it was a national report in The Irish Times, was very critical of how many towns, many in west Cork, are basically putting raw sewage into the local tides. Better engagement is needed. How that is done will have to be looked at, and that may be down to us as politicians, because it cannot all be about finger-pointing at the Minister to do everything. We as politicians have to drive it ourselves.

We must find a mechanism to drive that aspect in the context of the county development plan, so that people are interested and engage fully. I refer also to getting rid of these seven-year residential clauses which are in the planning regulations, and all this sort of silly stuff which has nothing to do with planning. We should, instead, be trying to encourage people to come into rural communities. Not everybody can buy property in west Cork because there is massive demand there now. There is also demand for people to get planning permission in a safe and environmentally friendly way, and that is being denied to those people.

We should step up to the mark and encourage people to come to live in rural communities, and not discourage them by having planning clauses which are unfair. They should be and have been challenged in the courts, and in some cases have been overturned. People, however, need an opportunity. When it comes to the county development plan, I ask every man, woman and young person in this country to engage in the process. We must ensure that they can do so, however, and that they are well aware of this. If that means the local newsletter or newspapers, that is how we must get awareness of this aspect across. We must give people every opportunity that we can. I appreciate having had this opportunity to speak on this issue.

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