24/09/2026
The Destruction of Rural Ireland.
In this mini episode of The Irish Question, Elaine sits down with Cormac Wall, a 33 year old farmer, husband and father of two living in Tarbert, on the Kerry Limerick border
Cormac wants something that should not sound extraordinary to build a home and raise his family in the rural community where he farms.
He has applied for planning permission three times.
He has been refused three times.
Cormac says that on each application, an objection relating to traffic safety was raised by the roads authority late in the planning process.
His story raises a much bigger question:
What future are we actually creating for young families in rural Ireland?
At the same time as farmers and rural families face enormous difficulties trying to build homes on their own land, huge solar developments are appearing across agricultural land including in areas valued for their landscape, farming and tourism.
We discuss:
• Cormac’s three attempts to secure planning permission
• The reasons given for refusing his proposed home
• The difficulties facing young farmers who want to remain in their own communities
• The loss of agricultural land to large scale solar developments
• The potential impact on farming, landscapes and rural tourism
• And the bigger question: who is rural Ireland actually being planned for?
If young farmers cannot build homes, raise their children and continue farming in the communities they grew up in, what happens to those communities in another generation?
Rural Ireland doesn’t need to be managed into decline. It needs families, farmers, businesses, schools and communities with a future.
This is Cormac’s story but it opens up a conversation that goes far beyond one planning application.
🎙️ The Irish Question
Cormac Wall: Farming, Planning & the Future of Rural Ireland
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