Building in back gardens 'will help fix Kildare's housing crisis'

Residents should be allowed to build detached residential dwellings in their gardens - without the need for planning permission.

That’s according to Newbridge councillor Tom McDonnell who said it would help address the housing crisis.

He told a Kildare County Council meeting “we have a serious, serious problem.”

He said up to 70% of people in their 20s are still living with their parents and this is “driven by housing costs and rents.”

He said 27 years is the average age for moving out and “in my day it was 19 or 20.”

He said that those who move out are "going to Australia and this is having an impact on the birth rate in Ireland, which is falling.”

Some councillors expressed reservations that the lack of oversight might have on issues such as drainage.

Cllr Nuala Killeen opposed the idea and said there was a risk of exploitation.

She said some people are paying up to €1,800 a month for garden sheds "with no heating or proper plumbing."

Cllr Noel Connolly (SF) said he would caution against a decision made “willy nilly” and he added “beds in sheds should be the limit of our response to the housing crisis.” But he also said log cabins could be a good idea.

Cllr Chris Pender said there could be unintended consequences such as flooding and the proposal "should be properly regulated.”

He added: “We can’t just stuff people in sheds or back gardens.”

KCC official Alan Dunney said the council would seek updated information when planning regulations are fully clear.

He also said a four week public consultation on “exempted development” took place in July-August and focused on whether certain developments could be built without planning permission.

This attracted over 900 submissions, primarily supporting an exemption for modular or detached habitable units up to 45 square metres at the rear of existing homes.

In September 2025, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage indicated that considerations and drafting of final regulations are underway and require passage through both Houses of the Oireachtas before becoming law.

Since then new planning regulations allow detached, self-contained modular or garden dwellings of 32 to 45 square metres in a rear garden without full planning permission “provided all strict conditions are met.”