Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome all the groups and their teams. I know many of the witnesses and they are all very welcome. I acknowledge the presence of Liam Kenny and Tommy Moylan, who are executive directors of the AILG.

I will start with the CCMA and direct my first question to Ms Henchy, who I am familiar with as she was the director of planning in the local authority I represented for many years. I put three county development through my hands. I have them all on my desk. I took them out today. Some date back to the 1980s. They include many volumes and appendices. They are now on disks. I did not receive this one. I requested it, but I do not have the written statement and maps for this one. Perhaps they are on the way or perhaps they are on disks. I do not know.

The CCMA presentation today was excellent. I do not support all of the issues raised in it but it was well laid out and I acknowledge that. References to ongoing work and work the CCMA will be undertaking were peppered throughout the preamble of its commentary and conclusion, and it will be making that available to the Department. Will the CCMA give a commitment to the committee that once it completes that work, it will send a copy of it to the committee, because we are also involved in this work? I will roll back slightly to add some context. What are we doing today? This meeting is carrying out pre-legislative scrutiny or hearings prior to a process taking place. There is a long way to go. I know the timeframe and accept the times are too short. I will ask the CCMA some questions and then I will come back to the other representative bodies. Will the CCMA confirm, without any detail, whether it is in a position and prepared to make its full comprehensive submission to the Department available to the committee? Will it also touch on an issue reported in The Irish Timesand the Irish Examinerthis morning, namely, the critical need for resources around this legislation. While it is not in the legislation per se, we must be mindful of the enormous needs of the planning authority and its support structures. That is important.

The ten year plan is far too long. Ms Henchy concluded a county development plan last year. I am not picking on her, I just happen to know her. She has already initiated, started or commenced a variation No. 1 to her plan. That tells us how fast things move. That is not a criticism. I understand it is a process. We currently have the five and six-year plans. What is the idea behind the seven-year plan? What does the CCMA think of it? It would be a grave injustice that a person who was elected to a local authority for ten years might never touch a county development plan. That could happen and it is not right. There is a lot of learning in a development plan, but, more important, there is a lot of local knowledge. Councillors have lived in these communities for years. They eat, drink and sleep the issues of these communities and know personally about these communities and their needs. It is important they are at the centre of the process. Will the CCMA speak about the new mid-term seven-year development plan and the association's thoughts on it?