Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I do not believe that SHD should continue. I disagree with the representatives in that regard. I very strongly support the points made regarding the importance of subsidiarity and of local public representatives and local planners, who are professional planners who know their area. I appreciate that there is a certain element of inclusion, but they are largely kept out of the decision-making process. This is a really important point.

I shall now ask questions because that is what the Chairman wants me to do. My first is for the representatives of the IPI. I am not asking Mr. Hyde to repeat himself. He stated very clearly that planning is not the major cause of delay; rather, it is not moving on planning permission given. Mr. Hyde made two points of note, one being on development teams and active land management. I am not asking him to repeat anything but I wonder whether he has anything more to say about the active plan-management proposals. On the use-it-or-lose-it element, Mr. Corr stated that, in addition to the vacant site levy, other measures could possibly be introduced that would address this element of the delay. While I agree we absolutely need houses, we also need to deal with where the delays are rather than where they are not. That is an important point.

My other questions are for An Bord Pleanála. One follows on from what Deputy Ó Broin said about having regard to development plans versus complying with them. Could Ms Kenny outline how she balances the provisions of development plans and area plans with Government policy, which is clearly supportive of this particular measure? How does she make the judgment in her decisions?

My final question relates to the point made by Deputy Darragh O'Brien on applications that are changed. How many approvals have been superseded by new proposals? I have an email from a Dublin councillor on an application for a shared-living development. Originally, there was planning permission granted for regular apartments. Are there any statistics on this?