A Kerry County Councillor says more one-off rural houses will help lead to more public transport in these areas.
Cllr Johnny Healy-Rae has welcomed the announcement by the Housing Minster James Browne that planning rules for one-off rural housing will be relaxed by the summer.
Cllr Healy-Rae disagrees that the new policy is wrong on environmental grounds as more one-off rural houses will lead to increased car dependency - and that it's also a flawed decision at a time of soaring fuel prices.
He feels population growth in rural areas will result in more public transport being provided.
Fianna Fáil TD Michael Cahill has also welcomed the relaxation of one-off rural housing rules announced by the Housing Minister.
He says it was one of the key submissions he made during the Programme for Government to ensure that rural communities are being treated fairly.
Cllr Johnny Healy-Rae denies that the old section 140 planning rule whereby councillors could overrule planners' decisions to refuse planning led to problems such as houses being built on flood plains.
He says councillors' use of the section 140 did not contribute to such problems, and that it was local authorities that gave the go-ahead to grant planning for houses in areas at risk of flooding.
