People with difficulties securing once off planning permission in Leitrim are being urged to consider derelict or vacant properties.
Minister for Local Government and Planning, Kieran O'Donnell, made the recommendation as many locals face the issue of poor soil percolation preventing the construction of some houses.
Speaking to Let's Talk this afternoon, the Fine Gael Minister stated the issue around the planning guidelines and water quality standards Leitrim were being looked at by Government.
He urged people seeking to move to the county or to build on family lands to take advantage of the Croí Cónaithe vacant housing scheme. Minister O'Donnell confirmed that a public consultation will soon be launched on the rural planning guidelines:
''We're obviously looking at the rural planning guidelines, I'm very conscious in my role as Minister for Planning that we must ensure people can continue to live in rural areas, we want people to live where they've grown up and there are many people want to return from abroad and it's something we're very conscious of . We're currently looking at the guidelines and we have to look at the legal implications as well and it's something we will be bringing forward in the not too distant future but what I would ask people to do is to look at what there is in their immediate area that's currently a derelict or vacant house.''
