Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This is a very technical Bill. In my view, it needs a lot more time for discussion. I said in the Dáil last week that we need more time for Bills rather than rushing them through the Dáil. However, it looks like the way this Government works at present is to talk little, to push through everything and to give very little opportunity to people in the Opposition to scrutinise these Bills in the way they should be scrutinised.

There are a number of issues with the Bill. Many Deputies have raised issues with planning. I certainly have many concerns about planning in my constituency, Cork South-West. Deputy Leddin said that Limerick must grow. He is well entitled to say that because he represents Limerick. I appreciate and respect that, but west Cork should grow too. With every plan and county development plan, the councils have done everything in their power to make sure it does not grow and, if it is to grow, that it is to grow only in a bigger town. Rural communities and areas need the life built back into their areas too. A lot of one-off planning permissions, which have to be deemed as being extremely safe, once they are carried out in a proper fashion, are being discouraged in every way. Many young people have had their lives ruined because they have been forced away from their own bits of land and their own home areas and are being rammed into towns or villages that sometimes do not have the resources or the facilities their old rural communities had. In a large number of cases they may have had broadband and many more services in the areas they left and may not have them in the places to which they moved. There is no point in saying they have better sewerage systems because I know a lot of towns in west Cork that are pouring raw sewage into the tide, including in the parish I live in, Goleen. It is sad we find ourselves in the situation we are in, where we have a Green Party in government and that is the case. There is no progress whatsoever on that issue in my area, and there are more similar areas. I could name them. I commend the movement in Castletownshend. We had discussions there last week because this is hugely important.

Then I looked at the county development plan, however, and saw that quite a lot of areas that were zoned had become unzoned for some reason or another. Who came up with that miraculous plan behind the scenes to zone an area maybe five or ten years ago and then to pull the plug? People had plans in that area to build their community. Those plans are gone to the wall now, and it is very unfair. That needs to be explained.

The planning process is extremely difficult to navigate. Young families try to get off the ground, get up and get going in their lives. The first thing they want to do is meet the planner. Now that is not allowed either. Since Covid the planners have gone into hiding and there are only online meetings, which is terribly unfair on young people who want face-to-face meetings and want to work out what is suitable and where and to get a feeling as to whether they are going in the right direction, instead of spending a lot of money - and a lot of money is being spent. I know of one planning permission in my area - obviously, I cannot name the person - in respect of which the amount of work to get it across the line was shocking. I do not know how many thousands it cost the family and the young man trying to get on in life. There was this report for this and worms and snails, and I do not know what other reports in the name of God they had to draw up before he got planning. Halfway through the family said to me, "To hell with it, we are packing it up." I urged them to keep at it. They thought it was a terrible exercise. The same people who devise it are very careful about the environment and whatever else. There are so many rules and regulations attached to planning now that it is making things extremely difficult.

There is also reference in the Bill to quarries and to the changes in that regard. I was talking to Deputies Danny Healy-Rae and Mattie McGrath about this yesterday evening. We are very worried about these changes. Obviously, there have to be rules and regulations in respect of quarries, but if these changes come into effect, the small quarry owner, if he has a slight infringement, could be closed down very quickly. That will suit the large quarry owners who have a monopoly in the market already. If the Government starts closing the small quarry operators around Ireland, in rural areas in particular, the large quarry operator will price projects and deliveries out of all means. It will break the local authority and break the ordinary couple on the street in the countryside who are trying to build their house and trying to pay for material. They will not be able to pay for material because the large quarry operator will already have a monopoly in the market. My worry is that this is a nice way to shut off the small quarry operators who have been great to local people, supplying goods at a fairly reasonable price and keeping these large operators on their toes. I would like the Minister of State to clarify that for us later. I would also like him to clarify that the latter is not what is intended and that if there is regulation - and there needs to be regulation - and if there is an infringement, at least the person gets a slap on the wrist and is told to put it right. Okay, if after a second time they are not willing to do that, then the Government should move in. However, if the Government is willing to shut down the smaller operators who are struggling as it is because of fuel costs, energy costs and everything else, the Government is only really putting them out of business.

Many Deputies have spoken about the Irish Water connections. It is astonishing to hear the prices some people - people, again, trying to get on and to get going in their lives - are being charged for a basic water collection. Many people tell me they can run the pipe up themselves and can do everything else. All they need is for Irish Water to do the final connection. That is not allowed, of course, because somebody wants to take a nice tap of money out of it before finishing up. That is an area that has to be looked into seriously because people cannot keep being penalised day by day and night by night. We have to ask the questions of Irish Water and the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications.

Why did I read a recent report to the effect that areas such as Clonakilty, Skibbereen, Bantry, Durrus, Goleen and Crookhaven are running out of water? Imagine Clonakilty running out of water. Development is no longer allowed there. The people of Clonakilty want development in their area, as they deserve, because there are opportunities there. The areas I have mentioned have had no works done to their reservoirs. It looks like it could be a dry summer but not ragingly dry. I know that the Minister of State or some other Minister will get up in a minute and say it is all to do with the environment. For God's sake, that has been going on for the past 40 or 50 years. The Government should stop that old nonsense talk. The reality of the day is that if there is a dry summer in some of these areas, there will be no works. There have been no works on some of the sewerage systems in Goleen and places like that - and it is not just Goleen. They ran out of water in Coppeen, which is near Ballineen, two weeks ago for 24 hours. What is wrong? Why is the Government not investing in areas in west Cork? Is it keeping all the money for the capital? Is that where the money is going? Will this Bill tackle those issues? That needs to be addressed.

These people could be without water within hours which would be a scandal. I am very concerned about the people in Skibbereen, Bantry, Durrus, Goleen and Crookhaven if that is to happen for the summer months.

I have spoken about areas such as Ballinspittle also. It has significant issues with sewage. The town is very close to Cork city and could increase in population. It would be a super boost to that area of Ballinadee and Kilbrittain. This work needs to be carried out. It seems like a great deal of money has been spent but it has not been spent in the constituency that I represent.

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