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October 9, 2007
Who's in Charge of Ireland?
Here's a sad story:
P.J. McGoldrick can't live on land he owns five miles from his birthplace in County Sligo in the west of Ireland. He isn't local enough.
The former chief executive officer of Dublin-based Ryanair Holdings Plc was denied permission to build a seafront cottage in Carrowdough. Local planners favor farmers from the immediate area when granting permits, thwarting McGoldrick's dream of retiring to the place where he swam as a boy.
"I thought, my father's turning in his grave at this," says McGoldrick, 67, whose relatives are buried in County Sligo. "We were devastated."
Throughout rural Ireland, outsiders are forbidden to build unless they already have jobs in the immediate vicinity. Sometimes they are even required to speak Gaelic. The idea is to prevent growth and preserve the rustic past.
But the story gets sadder. Opponents of these restrictions are appealing to a higher authority: the European Union, according to which any citizen of the EU can settle anywhere inside it.
Of course, there are always exceptions:
Austria was forced to change its guidelines after joining the bloc in 1995. Previously, foreigners weren't allowed to buy homes in the western region of Tyrol unless it was their main residence. Now all EU citizens, including Austrians, are banned from buying or building new holiday homes in Tyrol, which borders Italy and Bavaria.
The Irish and everyone else in Europe may find that living under their own stupid laws at least beats living under someone else's stupid laws.
On a tip from Dave.
Posted by Van Helsing at October 9, 2007 6:58 AM
Comments
When they started the EU, I gave it fifteen years.
I have yet to see a reason to put the countdown on hold.
Posted by: KHarn at October 9, 2007 6:05 PM
So...muslims aren't allowed to hold land in these rustic territories? I smell a lawsuit brewing.
Posted by: fellowes at October 10, 2007 4:42 AM
