The development of one-off housing in rural areas "can't be a free-for-all" according to the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Minister John Cummins told Agriland that there "is between 5,000 to 6,000 rural houses built every year in this country" and that the government must strike a balance.

The minister also outlined that the Programme for Government commits to "ensuring that we support rural one off housing" and that the latest government housing plan also supports "sustainable rural development in Ireland".

According to Minister Cummins the government will bring forward a "national planning statement" next year.

He said this "will try to and strike that balance between allowing people to be able to develop rural one off housing, but it can't be a free for all either".

Minister Cummins added: "I'm somebody that's from Waterford City. I don't believe that I should be able to go out to a greenfield site in mid County Waterford.

"But equally I do believe that there are some people that by virtue of where they were born, inside a settlement line within a village area, that they can't go and get planning just outside that line that that's something that needs to be addressed".

Farm families' frustration around current rural housing planning guidelines was evident during the Fine Gael Agriculture and Rural Development Conference, which took place in Co. Kildare last weekend.

Minister Cummins heard from farmers who want their sons and daughters to be able to build a house on family land but who have not been able to secure planning permission to do so.

Rural housing

The issue was also highlighted in the Seanad this week when the Fianna Fáil senator, Dee Ryan, asked the minister if he "could possibly relax the rural housing planning guidelines to facilitate more people who wish to build their own homes in rural areas".

"If we are serious about increasing housing supply, we also have to be serious about creating opportunities for people who want to put down roots in rural areas," the senator said.

In the Seanad Minister Cummins defended the government's position and said that the "vast majority of one-off houses - well in excess of 90% - are built in rural settings".

But he added: "There are areas of the country where, by virtue of somebody being born within a certain delineated line, that they are not able to go outside of it, particularly in smaller settlements.

"I want to strike the balance in supporting towns and villages in rural areas while at the same time enabling rural one-off housing, where appropriate, in settings across the country".