Seán Kyne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Following on from the previous speaker, we should invite the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, to the House to discuss the decisions taken at Cabinet yesterday. There is a sense of frustration in the country. The Government makes its decision based on best advice but it would be timely to have a debate on yesterday's decisions, the huge success of the vaccination programme and the need to progress the booster roll-out.

I will touch on the issue of rural housing, which has a special place in the hearts of many rural people. I have no doubt that in the Deputy Leader's home county of Mayo, and certainly in Galway, it is part of our history. We can see many old homesteads and famine cottages that are a throwback to how and where we lived. Perhaps it is also evidence of land ownership in this country. When we did get control of our land it was often small parcels of land and small strips of land. Very often, it was scattered in different areas. A family's right to build on its own land is something many rural people hold dear. It provides supports in the community, with sons or daughters living close to parents or grandparents and providing family support.We are talking about small numbers in many rural areas.

I have a concern that if we left these matters to the Custom House, there would be a total clampdown on rural housing. It is important that we debate this issue in advance of the new guidelines on rural housing. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, is working on those and I understand there will be a period of consultation next year. I call for a debate with the Minister of State on the guidelines and how they are feeding into the national planning framework and how this framework is feeding into the county development plans.

It is important that we allow families to continue to build on their own lands. This brings me to the Flemish decision in the courts, restrictions in relation to the Irish language and the strict environmental conditions that apply to building and high scenic amenity areas. There is a whole array of areas in respect of rural housing. It is an expensive process and there is a large number of refusals and appeals. It is important that we have an input on policy and that we hear from the Minister of State on the consultation that will take place in the coming months.