Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)

I am glad to get the opportunity to talk on this important matter to allow extension of time for planning developments that are held up for one reason or another.

Indeed, we had this facility a few years ago, where applicants could get a second five years if they looked for it. The then Minister, in his wisdom, decided to stop that because he felt that developers were hoarding land, benefiting from time and gaining money without building any house. I hope that does not happen with this. It should be for people who have started or who intend to start and are coming to building the houses. Certainly, it hurt people with one-off houses badly when this extension of time of a second five years, was taken away from them a few years ago and I am glad that something like that is coming back now. Indeed, we have a facility in Kerry, even at the present time, where if people have started building, are up as far as the windowsills but will not have their house finished a month before the planning permission expires, they can be allowed a full year's permission to complete their house.

This strict urban-generated pressure clause is ruling many young boys and girls out of building a house in Kerry in places around Castleisland, Killarney, Killorglin, Kenmare and Dingle if they are out four or five miles from the town. These people were never coming out from town. They want to remain alongside their parents. They want to buy a site from a farmer locally. They are being deprived and denied the right to do that. That is wrong. I have spoken to the Minister privately. I have spoken to him at length in in the Chamber. I ask him to do something about that and ensure that these people get the chance to build their house. They are not asking for money or anything else. They are only asking for planning permission that I believe they are entitled to but, because of this clause, they are being ruled out. They are being stopped and denied and it is wrong. Many of these people who have failed to get in in the past few years have gone abroad. They have gone as far away as Australia and New Zealand because they could not build a house for themselves at home.

The local authorities should be empowered to build smaller standard-type houses or modular homes. I hope that the Minister will allow granny-type flats at the back of houses that the Government has spoken about, and continue with them, but it seems to be delaying a bit.

I ask young couples that are building their own homes to build them smaller and I ask the Government to encourage them to do so. There was a grant for houses that were built under 1,350 sq. ft in the 1970s and 1980s and people lived in them. Now they are building double that size and they are not using all the house but it is costing them fortunes more to build the house.

I plead with them to build smaller houses. They will save money and it will give them hope of getting going.

VAT on building materials should be removed or reduced. There is no VAT on building materials in the North of Ireland or in the UK. I ask the Government to seriously consider that due to the cost of building houses. When houses have gone over €400,000, they are costing too much and are putting a noose around a young family's neck they may never disentangle themselves from.

Councillor Johnny Healy-Rae and I have said at council meetings that zoning is a complete and absolute cod. Where there is a piece of ground that is fully serviced and has jumped the planning regulations, people should be allowed to build on it. It used to happen long ago and there was nothing wrong with it. Zoning is just a money-making racket for a pile of developers. It is giving developers who buy zoned land a monopoly to charge what they like for it because there is no competition across the way from someone else. They have that town or place to themselves and can charge what they like. We see what is happening in Dublin. The land is being zoned, developers are letting it stand there and when they get a bigger price for it, they sell it off and that person will also hold it. They are only hoarding land and blackguarding us. It is totally unsatisfactory. I ask the Minister to look at that, especially around smaller towns in County Kerry, in the places I mentioned such as Castleisland, Killarney, Kenmare, Killorglin and Dingle. It is very important people are allowed to build their own homes and given a chance to buy affordable homes.

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