Mr. David Walsh:

It behoves us to ensure an application is correct at the earliest point in the process and we take account of all views.

On flood relief measures, a point was made about about the OPW having access. The thresholds stipulated will also apply to individuals. If a planning matter is screened and under the EIA threshold, it is an opportunity for individuals, as well as the State bodies, to deal with the issues involved.

Deputy Fergus O'Dowd mentioned empty houses. There is nothing in the scheme of the Bill that will address that issue, but I draw the committee's attention to a number of measures in the action plan under which, as part of the announcements made in the budget, there will be a range of schemes in place, for example, the buy-and-renew scheme for which €25 million has been set aside next year and the repair and leasing initiative, for which €6 million has been allocated. More broadly, there is a commitment to have in place by the end of the year a vacant housing reuse strategy which will look at both privately and publicly owned housing to ensure maximum use is made of it. I fully agree that this is where there is potential in the short term to get properties back into use and look at the issues surrounding the provision of student accommodation to be released into the private market.

On the residential land initiative, if local authorities purchase lands, they can go through the Part VIII process which has obviously been streamlined and further reformed.

Senator Jennifer Murnane O'Connor raised the issue of fees. For the purposes of clarification, there are perhaps three sets of fees paid. A developer or a housing provider pays a fee to have his or her application processed. It is apportioned between the board and the local authority. It relates to the time spent by the local authority in assessing and dealing with the application. There is a second set of fees which apply to prescribed bodies.