Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am moving on to an Independent slot. Could I get an indication of who wishes to contribute? Apologies, but I cannot see the attendance list on my screen. I will moving on to a Green Party slot, which I will take it. The introduction of these regulations is a positive development. I have been looking at the fees associated with planning applications for a long time and they rarely, if ever, meet the cost of the effort and workload placed on the planning services in our local authorities. We must examine the whole area of the fees associated with planning applications.

These regulations, however, are positive, as is the introduction of the LRD Bill and the process it will establish to move away from the SHD procedures. It should not be forgotten that the SHD process also consumed a great deal of the time of the staff of the local authorities in respect of the requirement for them to meet with representatives of An Bord Pleanála. Now the first port of call and the first decision-making process will lie solely with the local authorities. This is a positive measure and it brings local democracy and participation back into the planning system and the first part of the decision-making process on planning applications within the ambit of planners who know their areas, their counties and their local area plans best.

The associated fees, however, should match the considerable workload that goes with making such decisions. Those decisions are often complex. Planning has become incredibly complex over several years. All sorts of considerations must be taken into account, such as flood risk assessments, retail strategies, environmental impact assessments, EIAs, which are becoming increasingly more complex, as well as other legislation, especially concerning low-carbon construction or energy efficiency in homes. Our planning services, therefore, are faced with many obligations, as the Minister of State said. The decisions the planning services make must stand up to a level of scrutiny across the board, so it is important that the fees in this regard match and support the level of work required to be undertaken by planning services.

Previous to this meeting, we met to discuss the Estimates. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, outlined the announcement, hopefully positive, that will be forthcoming shortly regarding local authority staffing levels and resources. We look forward to that happening because we must address many areas in planning and we must have the requisite staff resources in place to do that. Overall, I welcome these regulations and I thank the Minister of State for bringing them to the committee.