Donegal Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

Cllr Pearse Doherty warns against rise in holiday home saturation and calls for reasoned restrictions.

Published: 18 May, 2006

Speaking ahead of the imminent adoption of the new County Development Plan, Sinn Féin County Councillor, Pearse Doherty has warned against holiday home saturation and calls for reasoned restrictions.

Cllr Doherty said:

"As the final round of public consultation has ended on the Draft County Development Plan, the elected members of Donegal County Council will adopt the new plan within the next six weeks, I believe that there can be no room for error. The long-term consequences of bad policies in this plan will have devastating effects on this county. It is therefore no surprise that one of the most important and certainly the most topical policies in the draft plan are those that deal with the issue of holiday home developments.

"One year ago, in consultations with senior planners in Donegal County Council, I suggested that restrictions needed to be placed on holiday homes in the county to ensure local communities are not over run with holiday home developments and that proposal has been incorporated in to the Draft County Development Plan.

"At that time, I proposed that holiday homes be restricted to no more than 20% of the houses in any, village or town land. I made this proposal to ensure the sustainability of rural communities but also in recognition of the benefits that holiday homes bring to the county in terms of tourism and the construction industry. This is particularly important given the current economic crisis in the county and the need for substantial employment and it is my belief that a 20% quota would not threaten but instead would assist the continued development of these two sectors. To those that do not agree with any restrictions I point out to them that this quota would potentially allow for over 8,000 holiday homes to exist in this county.

"What this policy will do, is give protection to our communities by preventing holiday home developers from exploiting our most beautiful and scenic areas in the interest of a quick euro with out any concern for the vitality of that community. It will halt the trend of saturated holiday home villages and will ensure that holiday homes are built in communities and town lands that can absorb them. It will also ensure that the ordinary local buyers and young people who were up to now priced out of the market because they couldn't compete with those who wished to purchase a second home, will be able to build in the communities that they are from.

"Under the Sinn Féin proposal, each town land would be allowed one holiday home for every four permanent homes. These developments would naturally enough be subject to proper planning procedure. This would have a dual benefit as it not only allows the construction of holiday homes but also manages to protect the integrity of the town land for the future.

Our proposal would also accommodate farmers who wish to sell sites as holiday homes as part of a farm diversification programme, and would not place any burden on them.
"The new county development plan, which comes into existence in July will be in effect for five years. In that period of time if we do not adopt a policy such as the one that Sinn Féin is proposing we will see at the end of this plan more communities overrun with holiday home and long term damages to our county. It is my responsibility as an elected representative to speak out against any proposals that will have a negative impact on this county".