Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

However, I had proposed a period of eight weeks from the time the applicant would submit the final information. If we look at what the Minister is doing here, there are two approaches. The first is what I would call the legislative approach to which county councils have to adhere in planning. It is the eight weeks approach, that is, eight weeks from the time one put in the last information. If there is a further information request, it is eight weeks from the time the further information is submitted. That works. If the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, or anyone else wants to make an observation, they simply have to get it in on time. It is not a big deal. The citizen is owed that duty from the State, namely, people can come back in a timely manner and give their opinion. If it can be done for all planning permission applications, I cannot understand why it cannot be done here for a felling licence application.

The second approach is what I would call the An Bord Pleanála approach. As the Minister is probably aware, An Bord Pleanála has a statutory objective, similar to the Minister's proposal, to do this within four months but that is observed assiduously in the breach on every occasion. An Bord Pleanála appeals, even on a single house, can take up to a year or more to decide and there is no sense of urgency on its part. It sends out a letter stating it cannot do it within the guidelines of the statutory objective, that it is sorry, and that it will take as long as a piece of string, so to speak, before it is addressed. After six months it might send out another letter stating it still cannot do it within the statutory objective, that it cannot do it without the statutory objective and that it will extend the period again. I understand the Minister's good intention in this measure but in legal terms what he is proposing is worthless because it adds more to the bureaucracy and people will continue to get these letters stating the period will be extended again.

I am opposed to this and I will table an amendment to my amendment No. 78 on Report Stage stating that all licence decisions will issue within eight weeks of the required information being provided by the applicant. I cannot understand why it is not possible within a two month period to make such a decision if it is possible to grant all the planning applications in the country within that timeframe.