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

I thank all of the witnesses for attending. I am very supportive of the idea of moving to ten-year development plans. It is one I floated in this committee three years ago. It will increase efficiencies and free up planners and planning resources within local authorities, while also creating long-term sustainable visions for counties right across the country. I ask for a little more information on what the review will look like. Will it be a mini development plan done at meetings? How will that work?

In his opening statement, Mr. Hogan spoke about public participation being the hallmark of our planning system. We must keep it like that. There is some level of discourse out there that this new planning Bill might dampen that level of engagement and involvement by local communities and residents' associations. I note that in his statement, Mr. Hogan spoke about the review of the consolidation of the Act and how there was extensive stakeholder engagement. What did that look like from a community perspective and what would he say to local communities and residents' associations to put them at ease about the public participation perspective?

There is a significant focus on plan-making rather than solely on planning permissions. What does that look like in real life? Could Mr. Hogan talk me through that a little more and explain what the difference is and how we move to the longer term vision?

I am also interested in hearing about the certainty of timelines, the introduction of mandatory timelines and the penalties that will apply. At this stage, do we have any visibility of what those penalties will look like? Are they financial? Is there any indication of how timelines will interact with that?

My questions are on the development plan review, the public consultation element with local communities, some further context on plan-making and then the timelines and penalties.