Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 344: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if the rural planning guidelines for one-off housing facilitate the granting of planning permission to a person from a town or village of under 1,500 population in the environs of that area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29835/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The guidelines for planning authorities on sustainable rural housing came into effect on 13 April 2005. The guidelines provide that reasonable proposals on suitable sites in rural areas for persons who are part of, contribute to, or have links with the rural community must be accommodated. The guidelines, therefore, represent a presumption in favour of quality one-off housing for rural communities, as long as proposals meet normal standards in matters such as the proper disposal of wastewater and road safety. Rural areas are defined for the purposes of the guidelines as those areas outside urban areas with a population of 1,500 or more.

The guidelines are a material consideration for both development plans and in the consideration of planning applications. Planning authorities are required to review and vary their development plans, where necessary, to ensure their policies on rural settlement are consistent with the policies set out in the guidelines. The detailed application of the guidelines to particular planning cases is, however, a matter for the planning authority concerned or An Bord Pleanála, as appropriate.