Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I understand the point being made by Deputy Ó Broin. I do not think this committee has worked very well together. We do not wish to be a stumbling block but we have genuine concerns about removing powers from local authorities. I was a local councillor for 12 years and in that time I was not aware of any Part 8 application being refused. As we do not have the data available, this is not a discussion based on factual information. A problem might arise before an application gets to the stage of a final decision, as Deputy Ó Broin probably pointed out. I am willing to consider all suggestions but I am unclear how the system would work if power was moved towards the centre. To follow up on comments of Deputy Ó Broin and Dr. Norton, would such a move improve the system? How would the process work if decisions are made centrally? How would the nuts and bolts of the system work?

I was involved in a scheme of four houses developed for the Travelling community in Ashford, a relatively rural part of County Wicklow. It was through engagement with the community that we delivered that project in quite a short timeframe. One of the landowners came up with an alternative suggestion regarding the layout and the council swapped some of the land. The process of engagement through local authorities, local authority members and the community is fundamental in how this will succeed. If we move the powers of decision to the centre or the chief executive, what will be the process? What steps will be put in place to get to a decision? The committee is not here to be obstructive but, rather, to find solutions. The powers of local authorities are worthy of genuine consideration.

The sequence in terms of how Traveller accommodation plans fit in with county development plans has been reversed because of the national planning framework. It was the case that plans progressed from local level to country plans, regional plans and national plans. All of a sudden, it is the other way around and everything is being dictated from national level down through regional and county plans to local area plans. The whole thing has been reversed. It is on a statutory footing, which was not previously the case. County plans must follow within 18 months and local plans must follow thereafter. It might be quite easy to fit Traveller accommodation plans into that cycle, although I am not sure where. That is an observation on tying Traveller accommodation plans into local area and county plans.