Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 600: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of once off housing units in respect of which planning permission has been granted throughout County Kildare in the years 2000 to date in 2006; the number refused in the same period; the extent to which such applications have been affected by the revised statutory guidelines issued by his Department in respect of rural housing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33391/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has details of planning applications for individual houses determined by local authorities for the years 2004 and 2005. This data was gathered under the local authorities' performance monitoring initiative, Service Indicators in Local Authorities, an annual report of various local authority functions which commenced in 2004. My Department does not hold relevant details for the years 2000 to 2003 nor for the current year to date.

The details of the number of applications for individual houses determined in County Kildare in 2004 and 2005 are as follows:

The Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines for Planning Authorities were issued in draft form in March 2004 and formally in April 2005. The purpose of the Guidelines is to achieve a balance between the accommodation of rural housing needs and the need for development to be sustainable in economic, social and environmental terms. The Guidelines provide that reasonable proposals on suitable sites for persons who are part of and contribute to the rural community should be accommodated. This, of course, is subject to the need for proper consideration of matters such as adequate wastewater disposal and road safety.

Parts of Kildare are rural areas under strong urban influence and, as such, the Guidelines recommend that the development plan policies make a distinction between urban and rural generated housing in those rural areas closest to large urban areas, in order to avoid ribbon and haphazard development. Kildare County Council confirmed to my Department in October 2005 that their development plan for 2005-2011, which they must have regard to when considering a planning application, takes account of the Guidelines.