Louth councillor calls for Minister to intervene on rural planning

^{ABOVE: Cllr John Sheridan; Senator Erin McGreehan; Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue; Cllr Andrea McKevitt; Cllr Sean Kelly; and Cathaoirleach of Louth County Council, Cllr Conor Keelan (PHOTO: Ken Finegan/www.newspics.ie)}

Cllr Andrea McKevitt has called on Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, to intervene on rural rural one off housing planning laws which are presently in place.

The Minister was at a public meeting on Tuesday night, which was attended by members of the farming community from all across the county in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dundalk

Cllr McKevitt spoke on what she says is “ the need for Ministerial intervention at department level with regards to the strict rural one off housing planning laws which are presently in place”

Cllr McKevitt said that “the conditions make it very difficult to build on family owned land unless they own a certain amount of land or are family farmers, and in the case they are fortunate enough to satisfy this criteria they then must only allow three children to build, leading to more division and conflict.”

The Fianna Fáil councillor added, “the Croí Conaithe scheme introduced by the government is very welcome and I urge people to apply for this if they can, however not everyone has a vacant or derelict property nor are they for sale.”

Cllr McKevitt was one of three county councillors to vote against the County Development Plan in 2021, she was joined by fellow Fianna Fáil Cllr James Byrne and Green Party’s Marianne Butler.

Councillor McKevitt at the time of the vote stated that her conscience wouldn't allow her to “support a plan that would destroy rural Ireland”.

Cllr McKevitt told the meeting, “I feel the same now as I did then on the issue, the strict regulations that are in place are decimating rural communities, so many people cannot get planning on their family owned land, which was held onto for generations for their use to build a home and raise their family, however this no longer is an option.”

The Dundalk-Carlingford councillor continued, “It takes a family to run a farm, Minister not just one or two children and we need to acknowledge that as many farmers are only part time farmers and need to work other jobs for a stable income and these criteria will ruin family farms and livelihoods never mind our rural communities which is the heart of the Cooley Peninsula.

“Minister that is why I am asking you and your Department to help shape and influence policy for the longevity and sustainability of our rural communities. Intervention is needed now, to ensure that people brought up, be it in Corakit, Omeath, the South Commons in Carlingford, Mucklagh in Cooley, Ballymakellet in Ravensdale, or any area of Rural Zone one as its better known by planners, are afforded the same opportunities as their elders to continue to live there raising the next generation to sustain our schools, GAA clubs, community events and the copious other groupings and organisations at the centre of our communities.’’