The ruling supports the position taken by the Irish Rural Dwellers Association who for years have argued that the right of the individual, no matter who they are or where they're from, to live in a rural area must be respected.

It also 'diverges' from the views held by such bodies as An Taisce who have waged a relentless campaign against the construction of one-off houses in the countryside.

Here's the problem. The majority of those who work within the planning process . . . architects, engineers, councillors, council officials . . . know that rural councils have development policies which are based on bare naked discrimination. This sets up an air of confusion and cynicism on all matters to do with planning . . . if some discriminatory practices are permitted, what other immoralities will the planning authority tolerate?

By allowing one lie, the line between good and bad, fair and unfair, right and wrong can no longer be drawn. The insincerity required of a council official to impose an unfair policy on a community (discrimination on rural housing, for example) is now necessary in the application of all policies regardless of whether they are justified or not. Trust breaks down. Little abuses spring up. Lack of trust plus little abuses (eventually) equals chaos. And that's where we are now . . . our planning system is in chaos.

Ireland is expanding. Some estimates say we'll have a population of eight million by 2020 but, who can say? We might be talking about 15 or 20 million for all they know.

This will mean who-knows-how-many new houses, schools, creches, police stations, underground systems and everything else that goes with rapid growth. To facilitate such growth we need to establish a new planning paradigm, one which permits development to occur wherever and whenever that development is necessary.

But the new paradigm must first be morally and philosophically robust and must, at its starting point, take account of peoples' basic right to live their lives as they see fit. Planning, like life, is a complex, messy business. It would be nice if we could come up with a planning system which catered to all aesthetic considerations, but it is fundamental that we make the system fair.

For more on Garry's views about planning issues visit www. garrymiley. com