Ballinasloe Sinn Fein candidate Regan Maher says Government must focus on rural planning permission

Government needs to make planning permission a priority when dealing with the housing crisis in rural Ireland.

That's according to Sinn Fein candidate for the Ballinasloe area, Regan Maher.

She says the failures of successive Governments to properly fund local authorities and An Bord Pleanála has left rural communities facing huge challenges.

Regan Maher says if we want to tackle emigration and rural decline, young people must be given the chance to be part of their local communities.