Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 12 July 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

Review and Consolidation of Planning Legislation: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Resumed)

Ms Maria Graham:

One of the issues is that much of the language comes from directives. Deputy Gould mentioned IROPI. I always struggle myself to remember what is meant but we get used to the language. For example, what does "I" stand for? It is "imperative" and "reasons of overriding public interest" follows. We get used to using acronyms and it makes it a bit impenetrable for the public. One of the specific roles of the Office of the Planning Regulator is to produce planning leaflets that describe these different elements. That is an important piece. The degree to which we can be clear about the language within the legislation and that it means the same thing when it is used is important. Sometimes we say "take account of" and sometimes we say "have regard to". Is there a difference in the meaning? We are conscious of the jargon but there is probably a piece to make sure there is a plain speaking guide in terms of the leaflet.

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