Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 30 September 2021

Public Accounts Committee

NAMA Financial Statement 2020 and Special Report 111 of the Comptroller and Auditor General

9:30 am

Mr. Brendan McDonagh:

No, but we have two sites in Celbridge and on one of them it does apply. As for the second one, it is in everybody's interest that it would be developed. There are lots of issues but all I can say is we come to these matters from a positive attitude. We try to sell the story that this is in everybody's interest. We work closely with the local interest groups and are trying to work closely with the Department of Education in respect of schools. We have been very active in providing sites to the Department if it needs them for schools. I am a firm believer in doing that, but much of it comes down to the local authorities. In fairness to them, there is a serious deficit of planning expertise across the system. One local authority has something like eight vacancies in its planning department and it is a pretty big local authority. There is huge deficit of that skill set. There are many issues at play but, all in all, we have a very good relationship with the chief executives of both Fingal County Council and Kildare County Council and the planning people there. Everybody is attuned to doing everything they can, within the constraints of current development plans, which are overseen by the Planning Regulator to make sure they are in accordance with national population targets. That issue has to be watched as well.

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