Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I promise I will be as efficient as humanly possible. There has been a lot of discussion around resources and how every sector is struggling to get human resources, be it bus drivers or restaurant workers. There is not one sector that is not struggling with resources. How are both organisations engaging and working with the Departments of Education and Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to get them to scale up to meet future demand?

Is there scope in legislation to compel activations? Most of this morning's debate has been about the backlog in making planning decisions. There is huge frustration that tens of thousands of granted planning permissions are going unactivated. Is there any scope for us to compel activations through legislation?

Mr. Cussen is right that the fee of €65 is an incredibly good deal for the amount of effort that goes in. That fee is for the actual planning application and does not include the pre-planning discussions or any of the consultations. It is a huge underestimation of the actual costs. Will the witnesses come back to us with guidance on that? The OPR was asked whether it had considered doing a study on it and providing recommendations. It is really important. It does not necessarily have to be catered for under legislation, and it is something that will change over time, but we need to put a proper value on it, although not necessarily cost recovery. While we have to ensure public participation is not discouraged, we must also accurately reflect the work involved and the value of what is being done.

E-planning is coming, which is great. How soon will that be a reality for the general public and how integrated will it be? There are 31 local authorities and An Bord Pleanála. Will there be a seamless interface between local authorities in Dublin or Cork or elsewhere? From the general public's perspective, will the plan progress seamlessly on one platform from? I appreciate I have asked a lot of questions. The witnesses do not necessarily have to answer them all now.