'Families with big gardens should be allowed log cabins'

Large families with big gardens should be allowed to put up log cabins or modular homes to alleviate overcrowding, Cllr Frankie Keena says.

At the May meeting of Westmeath County Council, he said: “We have to be flexible to help families living in overcrowded conditions.”

Barry Kehoe, chief executive of the council, said the issue of log cabins had been discussed at length previously and it is a planning policy matter.

The provision of such cabins in gardens can have negative consequences for neighbours and others in the vicinity, he pointed out.

“We must protect the residential amenity of current and future residents of houses,” he said.

Mr Kehoe added that it is a complex issue, but “we would be happy to discuss it, in due course”.