Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 51: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will re-examine his decision to impose a local needs restriction for building houses in the non CLÁR areas of County Monaghan; his views on the fact that County Monaghan has one of the lowest population increases in the country and that this restriction is unjustified, unfair and takes away the rights of people in a totally unnecessary way; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8097/08]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The Monaghan County Development Plan 2007-2013 was adopted in March 2007 following public consultation at draft and material amendment stages. At both stages, my Department expressed serious concerns that the draft plan did not support the objectives of the National Spatial Strategy, the Regional Planning Guidelines for the Border Region, or the Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines.

The Council's draft plan did not adequately identify areas under strong urban pressure, particularly in those parts of the County close to the main towns of Monaghan, Carrickmacross and Castleblayney and along the N2 National Primary Route. This runs counter to the approach set out in the Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines published in April 2005. These Guidelines apply to all planning authorities and are aimed at striking a balance between providing a sustainable planning framework for rural housing and making it easier for those who are part of, or have links to, local rural communities to build a house. The Guidelines provide that reasonable planning proposals on suitable sites in rural areas for persons who are part of, contribute to, or have links with the rural community should be accommodated. They thus affirm a presumption in favour of quality one-off housing for rural communities, provided proposals meet normal standards in relation to matters such as proper wastewater disposal and road safety. The Guidelines also classify rural areas for housing purposes, and specifically address those locations, such as CLÁR areas, suffering from de-population.

The rural planning policies proposed in the Monaghan County Development Plan 2007-2013 were without any objective assessment of housing needs, and could have facilitated inappropriate development of one-off houses in rural areas under significant urban pressure without the provision of sufficient essential infrastructure services. The Council has amended the County Development Plan to take account of the Ministerial Direction which I issued on 23 July 2007 under section 31 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 to address this issue, and I have no plans to re-examine my Direction to the Council in this regard.

It is a matter for Monaghan County Council, in the first instance, to ensure its County Development Plan, and any variations to the plan, meets the proper planning and sustainable development of its area, supported by proper assessment of the scope and extent of rural housing needs.