Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

I regret that this debate is so short and has been scheduled for the tail end of this Dáil session. It is extremely important that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past. The Mahon report may have inquired into issues in Dublin but the same circumstances applied throughout the country. When grounds emerged to investigate matters in a number of local authorities, the subsequent inquiries were conducted internally, which is wholly inappropriate and inadequate.

A number of the issues raised in the Mahon report are being addressed by way of legislation. One of the recommendations of the report was to establish a wholly accountable and democratically elected regional authority. Proposals such as this must also be implemented.

While I do not propose to equate inquiries into child abuse with planning inquiries, it is important to note that separate inquiries into clerical child sexual abuse found the same awful circumstances obtained in various locations. Precisely the same applies in respect of the planning system. The issues identified in the Mahon report did not stop at the Dublin boundaries.

We must examine the reasons the planning system is so developer centred and works on behalf of developers rather than communities. Unfinished ghost estates and mad decisions to zone flood plains and so forth are the product of this problem. If we are to restore public confidence in the planning system, we must have a thorough debate followed by radical reform. A short debate on the final afternoon of a long Dáil session is not sufficient. The Government must commit to providing time in the autumn to discuss this issue in a comprehensive manner and to introduce legislation governing the relationship between political funding and the political system.

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