Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

Appeal is good practice in terms of accountability in any organisation. Sometimes, for whatever reason, an organisation can get useful feedback from that process as well and so the issue is the absence of that.

In my reading of head 328, there is no obligation to publish a report once a review of planning functions has been undertaken by the office. In terms of transparency and accountability, should there not be an obligation to publish a report?

I have a more general question on the Bill and the points Mr. Ryan made about the importance of making sure there is a cohesion between local, regional and national policy. There is a general consensus that having clarity and certainly in terms of what development can take place is good for developers, communities and planners. Everyone wants to see it and it good for achieving housing affordability because it cuts out a level of speculation and all the delays that go with that. I think we are all agreed on that. The concern I have is whether this Bill will achieve that. There are potential conflicts that can arise from the place national policy has in the hierarchy. For example, national policy can be about the need for compact growth and increased density which makes perfect sense. If there is to be certainty on sites, there will be a need for local plans in some circumstances to give certainty around heights and densities. Will that not create an issue with certainty and clarity, for example, where a local plan imposes a height restriction of four storeys? The national policy is saying compact growth is needed, so someone may feel four storeys does not align with their view that compact growth should be six or seven storeys. Does this not open up the potential for litigation? What in the Bill will ensure we achieve this certainty and not just a continuation of potential conflicts between detailed local plans and national policy and the interpretation around that?