Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State need not worry. It is not pylons I am talking about. What I am asking about is how the public engages. There is also a health issue. There was a reference to the Minister including two reminders to the planning authorities about not accepting health grounds as a basis for objection. That is alarming. I know that before the close of business the media will be asking me to comment on that. I have flagged at this public meeting public health considerations. My quote referred to the Minister including two reminders to the planning authorities, namely, that health grounds should not be considered as part of any planning. It is important to make that point. I think we are going to have a lot of concern about it and the Minister of State will have people getting on his case within a week asking him about it.

I acknowledge the importance of national broadband and mobile phones, which all feed into economic development and prosperity for our people and country, which is marvellous. I see where the Minister of State is going but let us set out public engagement, ensure there is a process and deal with the fees in terms of how people can appeal. I have read a lot of documentation about this issue. I call for a register of approved telecommunications structures and locations, supported by a relevant database. I have spoken to senior planners across the country who tell me they are not aware of there being a relevant database to be created and maintained by the statutory planning authority in each case. Proper planning and sustainable development is very important and a national database mapping out who all of those are is required. Such a register would provide important input for the assessment of future telecommunications developments and would also be used from the point of view of maximising the potential for future sharing, co-locating and managing the structure. I am not talking about the look of something when it is awful. We are blessed in south County Dublin to have a lot of architectural conservation areas. The highest number of protected structures outside of Dublin are in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.

Where future planning consent and conditions are obsolete there should be provision that they will be taken down. There may be other issues. The regulations will go before the Seanad and the Dáil. I know the Minister of State is anxious to sign them and get on with his job because that is what he does and he does well. He is already talking to us today. I know we cannot amend the regulations so the Minister of State must proceed with them, which I presume he will do. Could he tell us that is what he will do and the timeframe he envisages? In that case it is a fait accompli. That begs the question of what we are doing here, but that is another day's work. I know the Minister of State is amenable to looking at some of the ideas and I will write to him about them under separate cover.