I wish to raise the restriction by Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, which prevents many people who wish to exit onto national secondary roads from getting planning permission. This is adversely affecting applicants especially along the N72 from Rathmore to Killarney and from Killarney to Killorglin. We are talking about 22 of the 25 miles. In 2012 the Department authorised the National Roads Authority, NRA, now TII, not to grant permission to planning applicants to access the national secondary roads if the road from which they emerge onto the national secondary road is not in the charge of the local authority. This is very unfair. These roads and junctions are every bit as safe as those that are in the charge of Kerry County Council. Sons and daughters of farmers, landowners and people who have lived and worked their holdings for generations need to build homes for themselves on their own land to be near their ageing parents and to be near their cows in order to milk and calve them. They need to live on the farm on which they work but they are being denied the right by the TII rule. I ask that the TII restrictions be lifted where there is an existing exit onto the N72 serving these holdings, in order that the next generation will be allowed to continue living at home. No extra traffic movements would be created as they would be happy living in their parents' home.

My contention is that if a farmer is forced to build or buy a house at a remove from the farm, he will most definitely generate more traffic movements going to and from his outside home to his farm and his ageing parents who are in his care. Many of these local roads are public rights of way serving several holdings, houses and farms. They are the same in every way as those that are in the charge of Kerry County Council. However, Kerry County Council does not now have the funding to take them in charge. These people who pay every tax and abide by every regulation are being blocked from getting planning permission by TII. I wish to stress that what I ask is that where there is an existing exit onto the national secondary road and where the site distance at the junction complies with the regulations, planning be allowed for the landowners' sons and daughters.

The problem for all those who cannot get permission in respect of their own land is that they have no hope of getting planning anywhere near their own holdings because all the areas surrounding Killarney - Muckross, Kilcummin, Aghadoe, Fossa and Beaufort - are designated as areas under intense upward pressure. That means there can be no planning for outsiders. The only option left is Killarney town, where land is making €1 million an acre and where houses cost €500,000 to €600,000 or more.

I thank Deputy Danny Healy-Rae for raising this important issue. As he will be aware, the Government, the party I lead, and, indeed, the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, who is responsible for planning in this area, support the right of people to build rural housing on land that they own in order that they can live in their communities or live near their parents, as the case may be. However, we have to get the balance right between proper planning and people's right to build their own homes on their own land.

What we want to avoid when it comes to national roads is too many traffic movements on and off the road. We want to avoid additional entrances and exits because that can slow the traffic, which is an irritation for everyone and which can also create road safety issues with lots of vehicles coming onto and off busy national roads. I agree that there should be a distinction between existing entrances and exits and new ones. I suppose it requires a commonsense and pragmatic approach, and that should be done on a case-by-case basis. Where there is an existing entrance or exit, that is different and it should be treated differently to somebody who wants to create a new one.

I am grateful for the Tánaiste's reply. That is the point that I am trying to make. Where there is an existing exit, where it is safe and where it meets all the sight distance regulations, I am asking that we review the regulations that are in place because there is a complete blanket ban in place all the way from Rathmore, west of Killarney, around Killarney itself and from Fossa back to Killorglin. It is ridiculous that farmers' sons and daughters cannot get planning permission to build houses for themselves and put a roof over their heads. If they have to live away from the farm and buy a house somewhere else, they are certainly generating more traffic back and forth to the farm, in and out to the farm and back to the houses they are living in. This does not make one iota of sense.

I am all for road safety. In many of these places we are talking about, for instance, over and along Ballaugh, there is two miles of a straight road where there is no problem in seeing the traffic coming. It is the same back along Dungeel into Killorglin. There is plenty of sight distance there, and it is wrong to refuse these people.

I thank the Deputy again for raising the issue. I will take it up with the Minister for Transport and TII. Blanket bans on national secondary roads are too extreme. I am a former Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. National roads are variable. Some are big dual carriageways. Others are quite small and would be classed as regional roads in other countries. Blanket bans are too extreme. I agree that where there is an existing entrance rather than a new one, it should be treated a bit differently for the reasons that the Deputy outlines, namely, that those traffic movements would probably be happening anyway. That is why I think a pragmatic case-by-case approach should be taken rather than a blanket ban. As I say, I am not across the details of the particular road to which the Deputy referred. I will talk to Deputy Griffin about the matter and, as already stated, I will raise it with the Minister for Transport and TII.