Kerry councillors voted down a number of Section 140 planning motions after some Fianna Fáil members agreed to a six-month moratorium on such motions.
Some, though not all, Fianna Fáil councillors abstained in the votes on three motions which were tabled jointly by Cllrs Danny Healy-Rae (Ind), Tom Fleming (FF), Brendan Cronin (Ind) and Tom Sheahan (FG).
Three of the five Section 140 motions, directing officials to give planning permission to one-off rural houses, which came before the council were defeated. Each one failed to get the necessary 21 votes, one was withdrawn, and one was not taken yesterday.
Pollution, traffic hazards and visual interference were cited by planners as reasons for refusal.
In the past eight years, 12,400 houses have been built in Kerry. Well over half are one-off houses in the countryside. Yet from 1996 to 2002 the population increased by only slightly over 6,000.
"This means that for every increase of one in population in the county, virtually two houses are being completed. This is significantly at variance with the figure for the state as a whole," acting county manager Mr Willie Wixted said.
Fianna Fáil whip, Cllr Paul O'Donoghue, said the party had decided on the moratorium to give the new county manager, Mr Martin Riordan, time to settle into his position and to see how he deals with planning matters.