Clare County Council was told last night that there should be no inquisition into people's backgrounds when processing planning applications in the county.
An independent councillor, Mr Christy Curtin, criticised the provision in the new Clare County Development Plan which seeks to prohibit "non-locals" from building in certain parts of the county. "Planning is not about a person's identity or their background irrespective of where they are from. It is time to lift the burden from the applicants and the planners," he said.
The meeting was told the council will hold a special planning meeting in camera next Tuesday at which the plan could be amended.
Reflecting the anxiety over the new plan, four motions were tabled on planning matters at last night's council meeting.
In response to a motion from Mr Curtin asking the county manager to provide a statement on the interpretation of the controversial provision, members were told the main practical implication of the policy is that on sites in the open countryside, in areas defined as being under high development pressure or as visually vulnerable, permission for the construction of a house is considered only if the applicant is a local person.
The manager's explanation added: "A standard condition, requiring that the applicant be the first occupant of the dwelling, is applied to such permissions."
Anne Lucey writes: Kerry county councillors yesterday adopted a residency clause which gives preferential treatment to local people applying for planning permission. The proposed variation to the current county development plan is among a range of measures seeking to control "widespread dispersal of one-off dwellings in the rural landscape" while favouring local people and their families. The new policy proposes "to give favourable consideration to applicants who are bona fide residents or persons working in the area and shall facilitate such applicants where possible."
The residency clause was first proposed by Mr Paul O'Donoghue, a brother of the Minister for Justice.
Mr O'Donoghue said local people were losing out because of the high number of applications from outside.
An Taisce has called for a complete halt to holiday or second-home developments in the south of the county. The phrase "bona fide" has not been defined in the policy document adopted yesterday.
Other measures include giving favourable consideration to the immediate family of traditional landowners for building on the family holding, giving permission to existing landowners for development along national secondary routes, and banning large-scale development in rural areas.
The draft variation proposes to restrict occupancy along national secondary routes to family members for a period of five years. This is to prevent primes sites being sold for holiday homes. The variations will be on public display for three months.
