Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Cussen and Ms O'Connor to the meeting. I have always been supportive of the office. I particularly thank the witnesses for their ongoing engagement with councillors on their programme. I downloaded the office's local authority elected members training programme for 2021 and it is a very impressive partnership.

We have 949 local authority members, all of them fiercely committed and passionate about their crossroads, towns and villages. Mr. Cussen addressed some issues of concern about criticism at the end of the report, and it did surprise me that it was there but it is his prerogative to raise this with us and it is a concern. I do not doubt him on this, by the way. We must also understand that people are passionate about their communities and places of living.

I have some questions on the rural housing guidelines, about which there has been so much uncertainty. We have the Flemish decree. In recent years, we have had ongoing correspondence from this committee and its various members about what is happening. There is a certain amount of uncertainty and this is feeding into the issue of people saying their daughters or sons or people in their community cannot stay but have a right to be there. They do have a right to live there but based on proper planning and sustainable principles. Will Mr. Cussen touch on this?

In the most recent annual report, which is online, he raised the need for a fresh impetus in the delivery of greater online processing in planning and I agree with him on this. If anything, Covid has taught us that we need to move faster. I have been very critical of An Bord Pleanála on the record because for a number of years it has had it in its plan but does not seem to have progressed it. I ask Mr. Cussen to speak to this because it is a very interesting way of communicating.

While I accept the independence of the office, will he share with the committee its relationship with An Bord Pleanála, other planning authorities and groups and the Department?

We need to understand where the office fits into all of that.

On the issue of local authorities, I am familiar with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown because that is where I live. I spoke to some members before Mr. Cussen issued his report and they said they were waiting to see what the Office of the Planning Regulator says about them. There was an anticipation and it is clearly well documented in the media that the office suggested there were over-zoned lands in Dún Laoghaire. Who is available to assist the elected members to decide which lands should be down-zoned versus others? For the past 25 years there has been a history of land zoned residential in Dún Laoghaire that has never been built on. The elected members will have choices now but I am not sure if they fully understand their powers in terms of that choice. Mr. Cussen knows that, ultimately, this is a reserved function.

I wish Mr. Cussen well. He is two years down. He is respected greatly across the local government sector.

We need to do more to assist the elected members, many of whom are new, in doing their work. Mr. Cussen's office is doing a good deal. Covid is a problem but it has literally become a full-time job for many local councillors and they need support. I will leave that with Mr. Cussen.