The bitter debate about one-off rural housing was being fuelled by the sale of land as a form of "income replacement" as much as by social argument, Mr Martin Nolan, the Kerry County Manager, has suggested in a lengthy report on submissions to the new draft county development plan.
As farm incomes have declined, it has become common practice to sell a portion of land as a development site, Mr Nolan said.
"Farmers and farm oganisations, and more recently the Irish Rural Dwellers' Association, are therefore very vociferous in their demands that there should be little or no restrictions on planning in rural areas," he said.
There was also a preference for detached houses, which was leading people outside urban areas, and a perception that a detached house in a rural area was significantly cheaper than that in an urban area.
"Detached housing in urban areas is not available at a reasonable cost or at least within the affordability of most young couples. Purchasers believe that they are getting much better value for money in rural areas. In the long term, taking into account commuting, schooling and availability of services, this may not be the case," Mr Nolan said.
Nobody would disagree with the social view that it was desirable to maintain vibrant rural communities, he said. The argument in favour of one-off rural housing was based on social as well as economic grounds. Maintaining vibrant rural communities was one of the primary objectives of the development plan.
In its submission, the Irish Rural Dwellers' Association has demanded the "total and unequivocal abolition" of the occupancy clause which is attached to planning applications in rural areas of Kerry. It also wants an end to the stipulation that people have to be from the locality or be employed in the area.
Rural development groups have argued that the only people to benefit from the proposed county development plan were "landowners on the edge of towns". The plan would also deprive people of "their right to sell a site", they argued.
Other submissions maintained that there was widespread abuse of the rural dwellers' policy occupancy clause, with incorrect landownership maps being supplied and people claiming that applications were for working sons and daughters when in fact the children were very young.
Councillors have 12 weeks to study the manager's report and suggest any amendments to the draft plan. These amendments can be inspected by the public for a further four weeks.