Ms Mary Conway:

I might start answering Senator Moynihan's questions. Her first question was in relation to the new 30% threshold for non-residential uses or what are defined in the heads of the Bill as commercial. We have not suggested a particular cap or whether it should be, say, 15% commercial and 15% community. It is something that is worth considering and to which we can give greater consideration but I believe that if we are serious about our commitment to delivering the 15-minute city, we have to give active consideration to what that mix should be. It is important that we get both a mix of commercial and an element of community use involved, and obviously, some necessary institutional use if we want to make really sustainable communities.

That will vary from site to site. There are some sites in this city - I use the example of Dublin because I am most familiar with it - including major transportation hubs such as Connolly and Heuston stations, where we would be looking primarily at commercial and residential development. That is because of the need to capitalise on the investment already placed in major infrastructural projects, such as the Luas lines, train and bus services, etc. There is not one figure that we can come to but it is definitely something we can look at and consider in more detail before coming back with a response.

The Senator's second question concerned plan-making, which is very difficult. We find from our own experience that once the official stage of planning, such as a local area plan or a development plan, is started, the system is inclined to get bogged down in meeting deadlines rather than in doing the real job we should be doing, which is to carry out extensive consultation and engagement. There is a two-way process not just with local communities but other stakeholders in a particular area, which could be quite a broad range. We need to explore ways of having a more proactive engagement with those stakeholders and the communities to ensure there is genuine, proper and full buy-in from those people into a plan.

This is a very complex question and I have no easy answers now. It is something we must look at. There must be a loosening of the timeframe and there should be more time spent on the initiation of the formal structure, into the consultation process and working with local communities and stakeholders. I might leave the question of resources to Mr. Kelly.