James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the new Secretary General to the meeting. I have questions on areas outside housing that come under the remit of the Secretary General. The programme for Government is committed to the reorganisation of local government and local governance. What plans exist to devolve greater powers and decision-making to local level? Are there areas where the local council can take decisions that heretofore it could not? Guidelines need to be published because block grants come from the Department and the roads grant, as an example that comes from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, was increased considerably this year. It was encouraged to make decisions at local level and councillors still want a special allocation for local improvement schemes. They want it to be specified because the bulk of elected members on a council are from the urban areas and do not see it as important. How can we overcome a problem of rural versus urban councillors? The former are in a scarce minority because of the population structure.

Over-zoning took place during the Celtic tiger years, when townlands on the outskirts of towns and villages were zoned for various types of development. Will new guidelines be published to deal with the issue and to promote the development of town centres? Rural towns are dying on their feet because the main centre of the town was taken outside of the town centre through development. This has been a problem in many towns in rural Ireland.

The national spatial strategy must be addressed urgently. County development plans, area plans and regional plans were produced but there is no collation of the plans.

Reducing consumer waste to protect the environment is an issue that must be addressed. Another thorny issue, after pylons and wind farms, is the concerns of farmers about fracking. When will new fracking guidelines be produced?

Last but by no means least, we need a balance between conservation and development to address the heritage horrors that occurred during the Celtic tiger years. Many of our monuments were destroyed in the Celtic tiger with overdevelopment. The issue must be addressed. What are the plans for that area?