There hasn’t been a house built in Kiltyclogher in 20 years

Speaking at the latest Manorhamilton municipal district meeting, Cllr Sean McDermott asked that the council extend the wastewater treatment plants in towns and villages.
“I am aware that where many of these treatment plants are in small villages, there is the capacity for further housing. This would solve the problem of depopulation in many of these areas,” he said.
Cllr McDermott noted that recently a house was built in Kiltyclogher on the Glenfarne Road. “It might never have been built if they were dependent on getting planning permission. There hasn't been a house built in Kiltyclogher village in twenty years.”
Recently, it was announced that the Government is considering new plans to discourage one-off housing in the countryside – including a potential new tax on developers building in rural areas and tax reliefs to make building on previously developed sites more attractive.
The plans, drawn up by the Department of Transport, are aimed at cutting car usage.
Cllr McDermott said, “If there is no solution to the problem we have with depopulation in our rural areas and stopping families who want to build their homes on a one-off site; if that happens, where are we leading to? There hasn't been a house built in my own parish since 2016 and there are parishes in even worse states.” He added that “school numbers are dropping all the time.”
A report to the meeting by the Head of Finance and Water Services stated that the management and operation of wastewater treatment plants in towns and villages throughout the county is now a matter for Uisce Eireann and such proposals should be raised through the local representatives forum or addressed directly to them.
Cllr Mary Bohan said that the issue of planning permission and the infamous T-test has caused considerable frustration in Leitrim for the past decade.
Some 87% of soils in Leitrim fail to meet EPA standards for effective waste percolation - with just a handful of new homes granted planning in the county each year.
She added, “We still haven't found a resolution to this and every party in Leitrim County Council has been fighting this case.”
“Why can't we find a solution or is it that there is not the will to find it?” she asked.
Cathaoirleach Cllr Justin Warnock said that the extension of the wastewater treatment plants in towns and villages is “built into our County Development Plan; that is part and parcel that we can extend our villages out and move that back into the main sewer so X amount of houses can be allowed to be built in a certain area; they are called brownfield sites.”
“Now we are being told here that it's being kicked back to Uisce Eireann when actually the council should be standing up and saying there is a demand for this. It's going to be up to the council in the long run anyway,” he said.
Cllr Felim Gurn said that while canvassing, he noted that there are a considerable number of houses that are empty.
Cllr McDermott said the rural areas can only survive if wastewater treatment plants are extended but “also you need to be able to build one-off rural housing; otherwise we won't survive.”