Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)

The necessary environmental safeguards will continue to be implemented. As I have said publicly, I welcome the fact that the Irish Rural Dwellers Association which very much represented those concerned about one-off rural housing made all of these points in an up-front way in its submission. I would advise those who have not read it to do so. They will find that the Irish Rural Dwellers Association, An Taisce and others brought these points to the fore. I compliment them because it was extremely helpful in bringing balanced order to this debate.

I am satisfied that the provisions of the 1997 document, Sustainable Development — A Strategy for Ireland on Rural Housing have sometimes been operated over-rigidly in a way that has not always been in the best interests of the rural community. Sustainable development captures the important ideas that development has economic, social and environmental dimensions which together can contribute to a better quality of life; must strike a balance between these three dimensions to be sustainable; should allow future generations to enjoy a quality of life at least as high as our own; and should respect our responsibilities to the wider international community.

Regarding rural housing, sustainable development is, therefore, much more than an environmental concept, although it includes that important element. It requires an explicit acknowledgement of the role that people living in rural areas must play in supporting a dynamic rural economy and social structure. For example, rural areas experiencing substantial and persistent population decline may lose the viability needed to sustain essential public services such as schools, local shops and sporting clubs leading to difficulties in supporting the economic and social fabric. Reversing population decline by accommodating new development may require some modest increase in the demand for private transport and energy use but would be sustainable in a broader sense because the additional development delivers strong social and economic benefits to rural areas.

The guidelines make it clear that the new Government policies on rural housing outlined in the national spatial strategy, and now set out in greater detail in the guidelines, supersede the provisions on rural housing contained in the sustainable development strategy. We have had an extensive public debate on this issue and I have met and carefully listened to the views of many of the parties, including members of Fine Gael, the Labour Party and others, to that debate. I am particularly grateful to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Environment and Local Government for its careful and detailed consideration of the issue and for its recommendations, which have been taken on board in finalising the guidelines.

As is the normal practice under the Planning and Development Act, I have issued the guidelines in draft form to give all those interested a further opportunity to comment before they are finalised in statutory form under the Planning and Development Act 2000. Comments are to be submitted to my Department by 30 April next. I will carefully consider any suggestions for improving the guidelines before they are finalised.