Draft planning guidelines for rural housing published by Fingal County Council yesterday impose stringent building restrictions on landowners.
As part of the guidelines, those building new one-off houses may be required to upgrade the drainage facilities and water supplies of neighbouring houses.
But they also remove the existing requirement that up to 75 per cent of all new house sales in designated villages and towns be restricted to locals.
The council is among the State's first local authorities to publish new draft guidelines following the decision of the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, to ease the criteria under which one-off houses in the countryside may be built.
The council was immediately accused by the Irish Rural Dwellers Association of engaging in a "new level of farce".
The draft guidelines still maintain "it is the policy of the council to strictly limit the development of one-off housing in the countryside".
The main thrust of the council's revised draft guidelines is to protect the countryside from one-off housing while directing new homes towards villages and clusters according to a council spokeswoman.
However, this was described as "An Taisce's line" by Mr James Connolly of the Irish Rural Dwellers Association.
In relation to farmers seeking permission, the draft guidelines state: "One additional house may be built beside the family farmhouse provided it is for family members who earn the larger part of their income from farming."
The same condition would apply to a farmer who has bought and operated a residential farm for at least three years and wants to build for a close family member.
Farmers who have bought a non-residential farm and want to build a home on it will not be permitted "as the erosion of the countryside must be arrested".
The only exception seems to be where there is a derelict dwelling that may be made habitable subject to planning conditions. Rural dwellers may be allowed one house to be built beside the first house if they are a close family member of the person in the first house.
People working within the rural economy who do not own a farm, or those who grew up in the area having spent at least 15 years there, will be allowed to build only in a rural village or settlement cluster.
Non-rural people will not get permission unless they have bought a derelict house which they want to refurbish, subject to "very strict criteria".
In criticising the guidelines, Mr Connolly emphasised that they were "only draft guidelines" and added that the Minister's proposed changes were "only draft".
Mr Connolly said he took exception to coverage of the debate by The Irish Times, maintaining the paper was "now an anti-rural paper".
