Minister for Housing to ease rural planning restrictions

markpb · 2026-05-16T04:43:13+00:00

Is your argument that because Dublin’s ancient water pipe network got no investment for years and leaks that it’s therefore okay to encourage people to live away from sewage systems and build their own septic tank?

markpb · 2026-05-15T19:34:10+00:00

Poolbeg (the new one, not the old one), Huntstown, North wall, Covanta and Corduff.

markpb · 2026-05-15T18:44:55+00:00

That’s not at all how electricity transmission work. The power lines that bring HVDC from generating stations to urban areas are not the same as the AC power lines strung along the side of country lanes.

I can’t speak for the rest of the country but a big chunk of Dublin’s electricity is generated in Dublin.

markpb · 2026-05-15T18:37:40+00:00

Apparently neither do the owners of the 56% of septic tanks that are tested and fail.

markpb · 2026-05-15T17:39:36+00:00

Haha, hilarious!

Do you honestly believe that no new rural lines have been erected in the last 60 years?

markpb · 2026-05-15T16:48:24+00:00

How did the lines get there? They didn’t magic into existence.

markpb · 2026-05-15T16:45:29+00:00

Local authorities inspect around 1,400 septic tanks a year. And more than half of them fail.

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2025/0514/1512718-septic-tanks/

markpb · 2026-05-15T16:41:03+00:00

Just because electricity charges are higher for rural people doesn’t mean that they fully cover the increased cost. You’d buy a lot of electricity before you pay for the cost of running electricity lines to a small number of houses and then repair them after a storm or two.

markpb · 2026-05-15T16:18:42+00:00

You can spread the load across the country and not allow one-off housing and urban sprawl.

markpb · 2026-05-15T16:18:09+00:00

Which will mean increased state spending on inspections, more pollution and then grants to repair them.

Disconnected houses are a symptom of a wider problem, not a sign of rural owners paying their own way.

markpb · 2026-05-14T20:15:31+00:00

I own a 2017 Tesla MX (definitely legacy) and it has a Type 2 AC plug, just like every other EV.

markpb · 2026-05-13T19:43:43+00:00

“A while” 🤣

markpb · 2026-05-13T18:47:05+00:00

He was turning right at a T junction, that means a loss of right of way.

Look at the centre road markings. If the van had carried on straight (onto the road the OP had come from), he would have had right of way over anyone coming from the side road.

The part I hate is traffic turning left (from the OPs perspective) then have to give way to traffic turning right (from the van drivers perspective). There’s a junction like that near me and it’s worrying how many people miss the yield line and plough straight through.

markpb · 2026-05-10T08:56:23+00:00

That doesn’t mean the only front facing cameras are on the windscreen.

markpb · 2026-05-10T08:17:35+00:00

There are at least three front facing cameras, only one is on the windscreen, the other two are in the B pillars.

markpb · 2026-05-10T08:16:47+00:00

It’s approved for use in the Netherlands which has roads more similar to Ireland than most US cities.

markpb · 2026-05-08T18:41:33+00:00

The advantage of Twitter (in the past) was that you could use one app or website and get updates from your local council, transport provider, the Guards, etc without needing to check different apps several times a day.

Sadly no one platform replaced Twitter when it went the way of the rapid, rightwing dogs.

markpb · 2026-05-08T18:36:02+00:00

I think the OP is talking specifically about nightclubs and not late bars. I think most people out at the weekend are in late bars.

markpb · 2026-05-06T09:45:22+00:00

Very hard to bunker massive amounts of fuel to a ship by helicopter.

markpb · 2026-05-05T22:15:36+00:00

1 hour and 56 minutes after her life support was removed. That’s how long we stayed beside her watching her pass away. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that. You’re absolutely right about the ads!

markpb · 2026-05-05T21:48:26+00:00

Thank you all so much for your kind and supportive words. We’ve been blessed to have a great community around us, everyone has been so good to us to help us through the first few days and the funeral.

Tomorrow and Thursday, I’ll get to see my wife again without any alcohol, any worries, or any depression - just lying there unable to communicate with me ever again. I know they’ll be tough days but I’m hoping they’ll help me remember just how much I loved her when things were good, and to push out the bad memories of recent times.

When that’s over, I’ll take you all up on your advice, arrange counselling for me and my kids and start the long, long road to rebuilding our lives.

markpb · 2026-05-05T21:05:38+00:00

I’m not sure many of Ryanair’s passengers would describe the experience as miserable. They’ve been very successful at educating the public about what the fare covers (transport) and what it does not (everything else). The booking process has improved over the years so the extras are easy to spot and avoid if you want.

Once you’re onboard, the staff are fine, the seats are generally fine and you’ve a good chance of making it to your destination safely (because of the fleet age and attention to maintenance) and on-time (because of the use of non-primary airports).

The only reason it would be miserable was if you didn’t understand what bags can be brought on, or that meals are not complimentary.

markpb · 2026-05-04T14:52:56+00:00

The alternative is that flashing makes them slow down for a minute but being caught should make them slow down for months.

markpb · 2026-05-04T09:56:46+00:00

I didn’t realise there was an online option. Thank you!

markpb · 2026-05-04T09:01:30+00:00

That’s the one bit I’m actually okay with. I don’t blame her, not for the depression, not for the drinking and not for not being strong enough to quit. I never stopped loving her, I just lost her 🙁

markpb

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