Danny Healy-Rae urges planning extensions to help rural builders

That's Tom Cawland then to get the opportunity to talk on this indeed very important matter to allow extension of time for planning developments that are held up for one reason or another and indeed we had this facility going back a few years ago, you could get a second five years if you look for it and the Minister of the Day and his wisdom decided to stop that because he felt that developers were hoarding the land and benefitting from time and gaining money without building any house. I hope that doesn't happen with this and I think it should be for people who have started or who intend to start and are committed to building the houses. Certainly people who are one-off houses, it hurt them very bad when this extension of time the second five years was taken away from them back a few years ago and I'm glad that something like that is coming back now. Indeed we have a facility in Kerry even at the present time as we're talking here that if you have started building and you won't have your house finished a month before the planning is expiring, you can get a full year to be allowed permission to build, to complete your house if it has started and you're up as far as the windowsill. This strict urban generated pressure that's ruling many youngsters, boys and girls, out of building a house in Kerry, in places around Castle Island, Killarney, Killarney, Killarney, Kinmare and Dingle where if you're out four or five miles even from the town, it's called a strict urban generated pressure clause but these people were never coming out from town, they want to remain alongside their their parents, they want to buy a site locally from a farmer locally and they've been deprived and denied that right to do that and I think that's very wrong. I've spoken to you privately, I've spoken to you here at Link inside the chamber and I'm asking you to do something about that minister and ensure that these people get the chance to build their house. They're not asking for money, they're not asking for anything else, they're just asking for planning permission that I believe they're entitled. But because of this clause, but because of this clause, they're being ruled out and they're being stopped and they're being denied and it's very wrong and many of these people that have failed to get in in the last few years have gone abroad, they've gone as far away as Australia and New Zealand because they couldn't build a house for themselves at home. The local tourists should be empowered to build smaller standard type houses or modular homes and build them smaller and the granny type flats at the back of houses that he has spoken about, I'm hoping that he'll allow that and continue with it. But he seemed to be delaying a bit. And indeed youngsters, young couples that are building their own homes, I'm asking them and I'm asking you to encourage them to build the houses smaller. There was a grant for houses that were built under 1,350 square feet back in the 1970s and 80s and people lived in them. Now they're building double that size and they're not using all the houses but just cost them fortunes more to build the house. I'm asking them and pleading with them to build smaller houses and to save money and to give them hope of getting going. Vat should be removed or reduced from building materials. We see above in the north of Ireland or over across the UK there is no vat on building materials. I'm asking you to consider this seriously due to the cost of building houses. Now when houses are going over 400,000 euros, they're costing too much and they're putting noose around the young family's neck that they may never disentangle themselves from. Zoning, Minister. I have said this and Councillor Johnny Hilary and Bortus have said inside at council meetings, zoning is a complete and absolute cud. And where there's a piece of ground that's serviced fully and where we'll jump the planning regulations, they should be allowed to build. It used to happen long ago and there was nothing wrong with it. But zoning is just a money-making racket for the pilot developers, just giving developers a monopoly that boil and that's zoned to charge what they like because there's no competition across the way from someone else because they have that tone or that pace to themselves and they can charge what they like. And we see what's happening here above in Dublin. They're zoned, they're letting it stand there and when they're getting a bigger price for it, they'll sell it off then. And then that person will hold it again. They're only hoarding and be garnering this and causes total and absolutely unsatisfactory. I'm asking you to look at that, especially around smaller towns in Kerry and the places that I mentioned like Castle Island, Killarney, Kinmear, Killarden and Dingle. Very important to allow people to build their own homes and to give them a chance of buying affordable homes. Thank you very much, Minister. Thank you very much.