I was born and reared in, and am proud to come from and represent, a rural constituency. I have a major concern regarding couples or individuals who are building one-off homes in rural areas. They are ending up having to pay significant development contributions to local authorities, on average well in excess of €5,000. The development levy waiver introduced by the previous Government was a super initiative. It helped to bolster housing supply and ensure a big pipeline of housing deliver. We saw some of the largest commencement numbers ever last year, with more than 60,000 homes commenced, about 10% of which were first-time, one-off homes. People in rural areas do not feel like it is a fair charge because if they are building in a rural area, they do not get public lights or footpaths and the money that is paid is not specifically ring-fenced for a particular area. I am asking the Taoiseach, given that we are in a housing crisis, to consider the reintroduction of the development levy waiver for one-off homes in rural areas. This will facilitate young people who are starting out their journey of home ownership and trying to self-build. They could do it without the extra burden of costs.

Sentiment score: 0.16