Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will ask the same question as Deputy Ó Broin asked so Mr. Hogan will get a chance to answer it. I note the CCMA will be before the committee later in the week.

I thank Mr. Hogan and his team for all of the work that has gone into this Bill. SHDs were introduced to accelerate housing. While the initiative delivered on the fast-tracking of planning applications, judicial reviews slowed many down and, as Mr. Hogan outlined, 138 sites remain undeveloped despite being granted planning permission.

I was a county councillor for almost a decade and I must admit that SHDs were very much a cause of frustration for me. They were often viewed by councillors as a way of bypassing councillors, councils and development plans. Judicial reviews are seen by resident associations as an unaffordable and unobtainable appeals mechanism. For these reasons, I welcome the sunsetting of SHDs and this new legislation, which I hope will accelerate the delivery of housing supply, as I believe it will.

I welcome the strict timelines associated with each of the planning phases and that the timeframes for consultation remain the same. It makes an awful lot of sense that the pre-application is to be used to iron out issues rather than giving rise to further information requests, which would ultimately cost more time. The paperwork, drawings and technical material provided by the applicant must be thorough enough to make that work. There is, therefore, a big onus on those who submit planning applications to ensure they come to that initial first phase absolutely prepared.

To build on what Deputy Ó Broin said, will these time phasings increase the burden on staff in planning departments? What plans are being made to ensure efficiencies in the areas of staffing and the processing of planning applications and to see what can be done to ease that burden if additional resources cannot be made available?

As Senator Fitzpatrick mentioned, Housing for All refers to a tax on vacant zoned sites. I know the Department and the Revenue Commissioners are engaged in ongoing work on this matter. Does Mr. Hogan have an update on that?

There has been much talk here about the SHD websites and how they were a very useful tool from the public consultation perspective. We have touched on that a little, but I am still unsure as to whether that facility will be transferred into the new LSRD system.

In summary, my three questions for Mr. Hogan and his team are around resourcing, the vacant site tax and the public consultation element.