The Government's decision to ease planning laws to encourage the construction of one-off houses will not lead to "the concreting" of rural Ireland, the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, declared. Mark Hennessy, Political Correspondent, reports.
Frequently applauded by ardfheis delegates for the change, the Minister said they would end unfair rules that have blocked rural people from living in their own communities.
"Nobody in rural Ireland who has commented on this has sought a way to concrete over Ireland as some would believe. Fianna Fáil policies have always been responsible.
"We want to end the tears, and we have all seen this, of people from families who have lived on farms for hundreds of years and who are being told that they cannot build.
"That is wrong in the Ireland of the 21st century," said Mr Cullen, in response to questions from Sligo delegate Mr Patsy Barry and Mr John Crowley from Galway West.
The relaxation in the planning laws, said Mr Barry, is "vital legislation" for the future of rural communities and it had been "eagerly awaited" through the country.
In his speech, Mr Cullen rejected charges levelled by opponents that the new planning guidelines were deliberately announced in the run-up to the ardfheis.
"We did it because it was right. We committed to ending the thorny, frustratingly insolvable problem of one-off housing in rural Ireland. All our policies are about the people. They are not about the elites.
"Everybody that wants to live, work in rural Ireland should be able to do so. We will continue to deliver for the people of this country without fear, or favour and we won't be dominated by any exclusive group."
Dealing with questions surrounding the quality of water supplies, the Minister said "the finest quality of water that exists in Europe today exists" in the State.
"Any tourist that comes to this country can turn on the tap in their hotel or bed and breakfast and get the finest quality water. Let's remind ourselves what happens when we go away to Europe with our children.
"What is the first thing that we have to do? We have to go to the shop and buy a gallon of water. That's something that you don't have to do in Ireland," he told delegates. Every water supply serving more than 1,000 people will meet stringent EU standards in the next few years. "Not one other country in EU is able to match that."
Urging delegates to campaign vigorously in the upcoming elections, the Minister said: "There is a good story to tell. There is a story of unprecedented investment in Ireland.
"I want you to challenge the naysayers. I want you to challenge those who are anti-everything. I want you to challenge those who have not voted for an estimate in the last five years.
"Non-national roads, which have had €2.5 billion spent on them in recent years, have improved dramatically. This year alone €627 million will be spent on non-national roads.
"Long has the day gone, thank God, when we had an issue of potholes in this country when people could not even ride their bicycle safely without disappearing into a pothole in the ground."
Defending the Government's record on housing, the Minister said: "We have not just an Irish record, we haven't just a European record, we have a world record of delivery: 68,000 houses for a population of less than 4 million people."
He rejected charges that the Government's decentralisation plans contradicted its own National Spatial Strategy. "Those of you who read carefully the National Spatial Strategy understood that it was an inclusive strategy, not an exclusive one.
"That's why the decentralisation policy announced by the Minister for Finance backs up what we believe about everybody in Ireland being part of Ireland's future."
John Waters column: page 16