Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney.

James Reilly (Fine Gael)
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I, too, welcome the Minister. I come from a rural part of Fingal which has a large rural catchment area which includes the villages of Ballyboughal, Naul, Oldtown, Garristown, Rolestown, Corduff, Lusk and Walshestown, as well as other rural areas near the towns of Skerries, Rush, Swords and Balbriggan. A recent European Court of Justice ruling appears to affect the right to planning permission in those areas and other counties. I understand the court has ruled that under the principle of free movement of people within the European Union, it is no longer valid or acceptable to restrict planning permission in rural areas to locals and to insist that those to whom planning permission to construct houses will be granted should live in these houses for seven to ten years. All of these restrictions seem to have been struck down by the court's ruling. The seven-year residential rule was introduced to ensure local people with genuine housing needs could receive planning permission in rural areas with which they had extended family ties.

As I have not seen a copy of the ruling of the European Court of Justice that has been mentioned in the media, I am relying on recent reports in The Sunday Business Postthat have referred to concerns in this respect. When I looked at the Fingal development plan map yesterday, I counted 26 areas that had been designated as rural clusters. Only locals can apply for planning permission in areas with such a designation. The 26 designated areas of various sizes, from five to possibly 25 houses, must all be in doubt because of the ruling of the European Court of Justice. Who can obtain planning permission in these areas? We need clarity on the issue as soon as possible. Under the Fingal rural housing policy, planning permission for close family members is restricted to two family members in the case of farm families and to one family member in the case of local dwellers who are not farmers. The ruling of the European Court of Justice has happened and is in place. My understanding is the Government and the local authorities must recognise the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice and take the ruling into account.

What is the current position on the various categories under which the granting of planning permission is possible? Farm families and families living in rural areas might not be able to raise the finance required to construct family homes in their localities if there is a doubt about the legality of their ability to obtain planning permission, or about the legality of planning permission they have already received. We need clarity and a direction on these issues in order that we will have a fair, reasonable and practical rural housing policy in place that will protect the countryside, while allowing farm families and families living in rural areas to obtain planning permission. This is very important from the point of view of maintaining rural communities and the extended family. It gives people the capacity to remain in their homes, while being supported by the following generation and supporting them in raising their kids.

I look forward to the Minister's reply. I hope he will be able to assure my constituents that there will be clarity and fairness under rural housing policies as they affect many counties, including Fingal.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this matter and welcome the opportunity to provide an update on the review of the 2005 planning guidelines for sustainable rural housing which is being undertaken. As the Senator suggests, the review arises from a judgment of the European Court of Justice in 2013 in a case taken by the European Commission against Belgium, now referred to as the Flemish decree case. As Senators will be aware, the 2005 rural housing guidelines require planning authorities to frame the planning policies in their development plans in a balanced and measured way to ensure the housing needs of rural communities will be met, while avoiding excessive urban-generated housing and haphazard development, particularly in areas near cities and towns that are under pressure from urban-generated development.The guidelines further aim to ensure that sites being developed for rural housing are suitable with regard to vehicular access and wastewater disposal, and also from landscape and design perspectives. In this regard, the guidelines suggest a number of criteria to be taken into account in local authority development plans for the purpose of assessing whether planning applications for rural housing are intended to meet a rural generated housing need. These "local needs" criteria in the guidelines primarily relate to requiring planning applicants to have a family or an occupational tie to the rural area in question.

The European Commission originally issued an infringement notice against Ireland in respect of the rural housing guidelines in 2007 which was subsequently deferred pending the outcome of the European Court of Justice, ECJ, "Flemish Decree" case against Belgium. The decree linked the transfer of property in certain Flemish communes to the condition that there should exist a sufficient connection between the prospective property buyer and the relevant commune, which had the practical effect of precluding non-locals from purchasing property in the Flemish communes in question. The court ruled that the Flemish decree constituted an unjustified restriction on fundamental freedoms under the EU treaty, in particular that it breached Article 43 of the treaty on the free movement of citizens. Following engagement between the European Commission and my Department on the 2005 rural housing guidelines since the court ruling, planning authorities are being consulted about making changes to the 2005 guidelines to ensure that rural housing policies and objectives contained in county development plans comply with Article 43 of the treaty on the freedom of movement of citizens. As part of this consultation, a working group comprising representatives of my Department and planning authorities has been established to review and, where necessary, recommend changes to the 2005 guidelines. The group is due to hold its first meeting next week.

On conclusion of the group's review and consultations with the planning authorities, my Department will engage with the European Commission on proposed changes to the guidelines, with a view to issuing revised guidelines to planning authorities in due course, and which will likely be issued in the form of a circular letter to planning authorities. When finalised, the revised guidelines will be issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, and planning authorities, and where appropriate, An Bord Pleanála, will be required to have regard to the revised guidelines in the performance of their statutory functions under the planning Act. Pending the completion of the working group's deliberations, which it is intended will be concluded in the latter half of the year, the existing 2005 guidelines remain in place.

James Reilly (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his reply and for his genuine and committed approach to the housing situation we find ourselves in. I certainly do not wish to promote a free for all. We do not want ribbon development all over Fingal or the rest of the country with the demand for services to follow, and we do not want to see scenic areas ruined. There is, however, a big problem which has created a lot of anxiety among people in my area who have approached me because they are struggling to get permissions. We all know how difficult it is to get finance and if there is a question over the validity of the ongoing permission, the banks will not be too keen to lend. I welcome the Minister's response and beseech him to ensure that the council authorities engage with the councillors. This issue has exercised them, particularly the councillors in Fingal, Councillor O'Leary and others.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this serious issue. It comes on the back of an ECJ judgment, connected with Article 43 of the treaties which allow free movement across the European Union, EU, and the freedom to live in the EU. We are considering that judgment. We have a working group to study the requirements and restrictions that are in place at the moment for good reason, to try to ensure that we allow people to live in rural areas who have a connection with those areas, through work, family or the period of time they have lived there or some other necessity where a case can be made. We have all been involved in those cases, particularly those of us who know rural Ireland well.We need to have a set of guidelines that protect rural Ireland by ensuring appropriate development, while at the same time ensuring the kind of thinking we have had in the past can be facilitated in the context of a court ruling based on a case in Belgium. That is a big priority for me in the context of how we see rural Ireland develop in the future, how we try to encourage communities to develop as collectives within towns and villages in rural Ireland while at the same time recognise that there will always be a demand and a need for some one-off housing. That is part of the national planning framework, which will be concluded at around the same time as these guidelines are finalised. I will keep the House and the Senators up to date on the work of that working group so that people know where they stand in the context of county development plans.