The current debate raging in parts of rural Ireland on the issue of bungalows in the countryside is "generating more heat than light", according to the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland.
The RIAI's president, Mr Toal Ó Muiré, called on whoever forms the incoming Government to establish a forum on rural housing, which would have as one of its priorities finding a solution to the issue of "one-off" houses.
He said such a forum should consider clustering houses around existing rural settlements and developing their "backland" areas as possible solutions, instead of allowing houses to proliferate in rural areas.
Though it was "understandable" at a time of rising house and land prices that farmers wanted to provide sites for family members, the construction of one-off houses at the rate of 18,000 per year was "simply unsustainable".
Mr Ó Muiré said "lots of people from our cities and towns, unconnected with farming, have bought one-off rural sites and houses, pushing up the price of land and often disadvantaging local residents seeking houses".
One possible solution to this problem would be to allow single-house developments if they were built for relatives of the landowner, subject to a clawback to the local authority on disposal of the property to a non-relative.
He said the redevelopment of towns and villages was necessary to counter the growth of major urban centres, particularly Dublin, and to reduce long-distance commuting, "which is a threat to the lifestyle of Irish people".
The RIAI is seeking to promote the reinforcement and expansion of existing towns and villages to achieve the critical mass necessary for sustainable development.
