Reaction: The question of who should pay for the delivery of services such as electricity, water, roads and emergency requirements such as fire and ambulance services appeared to be the main issue arising from the new guidelines.
Some commentators accused Minister for the Environment Dick Roche of being opaque about whether the householder or the taxpayer should bear this cost.
Labour Party environment spokesman Eamon Gilmore said the "darker side of Government policy" could see rural householders paying up to 16 times the rate of inflation for such services.
The Chambers of Commerce of Ireland spokesman Seán Murphy said if the planning rules are to be relaxed then the development levies imposed on one-off houses should properly reflect the true associated costs.
"The development costs associated with one-off housing don't end at sewage and water provision but also impact on schools, transport, infrastructure, electricity and telecoms provision."
Irish Rural Link, the national lobby group for Irish rural development, said the guidelines were a welcome addition to the rural housing debate but that they were not an answer to the long-term problems facing rural inhabitants.
There was a need to establish a Rural Housing Commission that would allow research on the best practice in relation to housing that would suit rural Ireland, said a spokesman.
Expressing outright opposition, the Green Party spokesman Ciarán Cuffe said the guidelines would increase car dependence and create a "builders' free-for-all".
IFA president John Dillon said that the publication of planning guidelines "demonstrated the need for local authorities to deliver more positive decisions on rural housing applications".
