Planning rules will be “liberalised” by the summer to allow more people to build one-off houses in rural areas, Minister for Housing James Browne has announced.

Whether or not this is a good idea, at least the Republic can consider it without arguing about British oppression. Northern Ireland was not so fortunate when it last tried to tackle the issue. Building a bungalow in your dad’s back field turned out to be a pointed political and cultural act.

In 2006, Stormont published the Draft Planning Policy Statement 14: Sustainable Development in the Countryside.

PPS14, as it was known, created a strict new presumption against one-off rural housing, but it still permitted generous exemptions. Such housing could continue to be built for farmers, farm workers and any employee of a non-agricultural business who needed to live near work. Replacement and conversion dwellings were still allowed, as were new houses between existing houses.

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There was wide scope to exploit these........

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