A Government report on transport that recommends discouraging one-off housing is now open for public consultation.

Announcing the opening of the public consultation for the report this week, the Department of Transport said the draft strategy aims to manage and reduce congestion.

A recommendation in the draft report outlines that under the National Planning Framework (NPF), policies should be aligned and measures implemented to deliver “compact growth” to reduce travel demand.

It said this will “strengthen system wide measures to drive adherence with compact growth targets of the NPF”.

The long-awaited revised rural housing guidelines, yet to be published, are referenced in the report. It said the working group over the above recommendation that discourages one-off housing should be consulted on these guidelines.

A further recommendation proposed by the report outlines a transport tax based on a “user and polluter pays principle”.

This would tax people in terms of time and location to “offset the projected loss of tax revenue from the transition to zero emission vehicles”.

Reaction

Reacting to the report, chair of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) farm family committee Teresa Roche, said discouraging one-off housing would negatively impact rural communities.

“From housing down to schools, shops and rural businesses, you’re not incentivising people at all to stay within rural areas,” she said.

Farming is not mentioned in the draft strategy and agriculture is mentioned once in the context of reducing air pollution.

Roche added that farming was not in any way factored into the transport report.

“I don’t think they took farming into consideration at all.

“There hasn’t been any investment in infrastructure in rural communities, particularly in water treatment and sanitation. There hasn’t been upgrading and improvements, as far as we’re aware.

“That might have been an oversight. Hopefully that is something that can be reviewed,” she said.