A DRAFT proposal from the Dept. of Transport – seeking to penalise rural dwellers who want to build houses in their home areas – has been described as being as ‘unacceptable and unjust’ by a national IFA representative.

IFA National Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche, said that the strategy behind the report was to discourage one-off housing in rural areas.

The proposals from the Dept. of Transport – headed by Green Party Minister, Eamon Ryan – are called: “Moving Together, A Strategic Approach to the Improved Efficiency of the Transport System in Ireland.”

“One of the main aims of the strategy is to discourage one-off housing developments in rural areas including potential new taxes aimed at cutting car usage,” said Teresa Roche.

She added that people who wanted to live in the countryside cannot be treated differently to people who wish to live in urban areas.

“The plans are completely unfair, and these plans will add further financial pressures on rural dwellers. These new plans are restricting choice on where people choose to live. Such a move may mean further isolation for older people living in rural areas, if the option of having family living nearby is restricted.

“The current planning systems allows people to choose where they live and proposed discrimination against rural people cannot be allowed to be built into the planning system,” she added.

IFA National Farm Business Chair Bill O’Keeffe said many farmers needed to live on their farms for a variety of reasons such as efficiency, sustainability, and overall success of farming operations, and putting more taxes and expenses on these rural dwellers was not the answer.

“People who wish to live in an urban area can be positively rewarded for doing so, but people who wish to live in rural areas should not be penalised,” he said.

Pictured: Dept. of Transport strategy aims to restrict rural housing.