Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Minister when he talks about consistency and planning right now throughout Ireland. We do not have it at the moment. It could be down to a planner. It could be down to a director of planning. I will give the Minister an example. There are five counties in the west. If you worked in Dublin, bought a house in Dublin and then decided to move down to the west to build a house, four of these local authorities would not ask if you owned a house before. In Roscommon at the moment, which is scandalous in my opinion, if you own a house, whether it is in Wicklow, Kerry, or Donegal, you move to Roscommon because of work or you decide to move home to the family farm, if you say you owned a house anywhere in Ireland before this, you are not granted planning. That is scandalous in any county in this country. We need consistency with planners and with directors of planning in every county. The Department should be looking at this. It has been watching over this for a number of years. What is going on in certain countries is disgraceful at the moment.

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