'Locals only' planning rule illegal and discriminatory, says EU

lubya

From 2007 Irish Time article: "THE controversial 'locals only' and 'must speak Irish' planning rules have been challenged by the EU as illegal and discriminatory. A landmark EU ruling yesterday will test the Fianna Fail/Greens coalition as the parties are poles apart on the issue of one-off houses in the countryside. The move will put serious pressure on 22 local authorities to abandon their 'locals only' policies when granting planning permissions.

The EU ordered Ireland to explain why the 22 authorities discriminate in favour of local people. The EU Commission has written to the Department of Environment asking it to show how its 'local needs' rules do not break several internal-market rules and are not discriminatory. After months of examining the issue, officials believe the rules break articles 43 and 56 of the EC Treaty which guarantee freedom of establishment and the free movement of capital. They examined planning rules in Carlow, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Fingal, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Laois, Longford, Limerick, Louth, Offaly, Sligo, Tipperary North and South, Wexford, Westmeath and Wicklow. These authorities require either residency or family ties to the area before permission for one-off family dwellings is given. Several authorities require that an applicant be employed locally in agriculture while two counties can insist that an applicant must speak Irish. The vast majority of EU citizens were unable to claim former residency, family ties or fluency in Irish, said a Commission official. A 'letter of formal notice' asking how Ireland reconciles the rules with EU law has been sent to Environment Minister John Gormley, who has two months in which to respond. The letter says: "The Commission requests observations from Ireland on the discriminatory aspects of the restrictions, their objectives, and the proportionality of the measures with the objectives pursued." The issue is expected to provide one of the first of many expected tests of the Fianna Fail-Green partnership. Within Fianna Fail many members believe people should be allowed to build on their own land as they see fit while the Green Party favours regulated, sustainable development."

We are in 2022, does anyone know what is the current situation with EU compliance within planning laws in Ireland?

Does feel like majority of cabinet is on payrol of large developers cornering people into semi's housing estates with disregard of what part of society actually wants. Not mentioning Irish people being denied to build a house on their own lands, no wonder we have a 'artificialy' made housing crisis.

Allow people to build their homes on their own land!

muffler

You should talk to your local councillors as they are the very people who adopt the development plans that contain the rural housing policies.

sydthebeat

currently we're still at the "EU ordered Ireland to explain why" stage.....

essentially, we havent responded yet.

Our ministers will argue that each time a county development plan is superseded, they are taking accounts of articles 43 and 56 of the EU treaty. County development plans only have a life span of generally 5 years.

however these devleopment plans are still being complied based on the 2005 Sustainable rural housing guidelines, which haven't been updated as of yet.

https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/debates/question/2022-01-25/74/

we are near the end of the second quarter of 2022 and still not update. this is a massive hot potatoe that no minister wants to deal with.