Photograph: Quilty Village by Ann O’Connell || Inset: Cathaoirleach for the West Clare MD Cllr Michael Shannon (FF)
WEST Clare councillors have called for new national rural housing guidelines to be brought into effect as quickly as possible, amid concerns that current planning rules are contributing to the decline of rural communities.
The call was made at the July meeting of the West Clare Municipal District following a written notice of motion from Cathaoirleach Cllr Michael Shannon (FF).
The motion called on the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to ensure the Sustainable Rural and Gaeltacht Housing National Planning Statement is finalised and brought into effect no later than November 2026.
It also called on Clare County Council’s Chief Executive to ensure the Planning Department is prepared to implement the new statement, including how it will interact with the current Clare County Development Plan, rural settlement policies and Areas of Special Control.
In a written response, Senior Executive Planner Garreth Ruane said the recently published rural housing guidelines were still in draft form and would need to undergo Strategic Environmental Assessment and Appropriate Assessment.
It is understood the document will be finalised as a National Planning Statement following completion of the required statutory processes, with publication anticipated before the end of 2026.
Mr Ruane said Clare County Council would engage with the statutory process required under the Planning and Development Act 2024, in consultation with the Office of the Planning Regulator, once the finalised statement is published.
He added that while the council supports clear and consistent national guidance on rural housing, the timing of its finalisation rests with the Department and is subject to the completion of the required statutory processes.
Speaking at the meeting, Cllr Shannon said he had put forward the motion because he wanted to ensure there was “no delay in implementation”.
He said the new policy could take five or six months to come into effect but would ultimately have to be incorporated into the county development plan.
Cllr Shannon said depopulation was an issue across West Clare, pointing to local football teams having to amalgamate as one example.
He said the new policy would “not be a gamechanger for planning” but would make it easier for people to return to the parishes “where they were reared.”
Referring to his own parish of Quilty, he said it was “vital that this change comes in quickly”.
Cllr Dinny Gould (Independent), Leas-Chathaoirleach of the municipal district, seconded the motion. He said “West Clare is diminishing every day”, with people leaving the area for Limerick and Ennis.
Cllr Gould said some local communities “can’t even fill our football teams”, including in his own parish of Cooraclare.
Cllr Rita McInerney (FF) said she supported the motion and that a recommendation on planning policy was needed.
She said the issue was important for sustaining communities, particularly where people wanted to put down roots in the areas where they were raised or where they remained involved in local communities.
Cllr McInerney referred to a case involving a family member who had left land to a relative located around 800 metres outside a village boundary, saying planning was the issue despite all other aspects of the proposal being acceptable.
She said she hoped the new policy would help to “relax” some of the restrictions affecting such cases.
Cllr Shane Talty (FF) said he was “pleasantly surprised” by the proposed changes and welcomed the draft policy.
“We should be falling over ourselves to give people grants to come home from the United States and Australia,” he said.
He also referred to a case involving someone who had identified potential sites on ancestral land in West Clare but was unable to secure permission under the current policy because they had been “reared in Lahinch.”
Cllr Joe Killeen (FF) said anything that could increase the availability of housing should be welcomed, with greater success in securing planning permission favoured where appropriate.
He also raised the cost of additional assessments, saying these could be “really expensive” and difficult for young people to afford.
Director of Services Carmel Kirby said the draft guidelines had been finalised at national level but that the council would have to wait to see how they would ultimately be transposed into local authority guidelines.
She said the national process needed to be completed before the changes could be implemented locally.
Cllr Shannon also raised wider concerns about planning restrictions in West Clare, particularly along regional roads including the N67.
He said it was “virtually impossible” to obtain planning permission in some areas due to what he described as a “blanket ban”.
He said people could be permitted to renovate an old farmhouse but could face objections when seeking to build a new house on a family farm.
Cllr Shannon said he did not believe this was right and also raised concerns about a lack of investment in water and wastewater infrastructure in urban areas.
Referring to Ennistymon, he said a lack of investment in infrastructure was preventing new houses from being built.
He said that where Uisce Éireann infrastructure was available, people seeking to build homes should be allowed to do so.
“West Clare need this to happen as soon as possible,” Cllr Shannon said.
