Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Many of the conflicts we have had in the planning system in recent years have been between city and county development plans and special planning policy requirements or other ministerial guidelines. Given that the national planning policy statements, as defined in the Bill, are so broad, is there not an argument to say that if a Minister is to have the power to fundamentally alter the rules of the game, should there not be a high bar set for that? Should there not be some requirements in place? These are not really policy statements but more changes to law. I am not against the idea of central government setting policy. I heard the elected members refer to the desire to get the rural planning guidelines, which we have been promised for five years. We have been waiting for the urban density guidelines for a long time. How do we make sure we get the balance right between the right of the Government to set policy centrally and local democratic accountability by local authority members? I do not think we have got that right in current practice or in the Bill.