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

I think there are three issues with community engagement. As Mr. Lawlor has identified, there is a lack of resources. There is also a feeling in communities that if the area plans may end up being breached, there is no point in engaging in the process in any event. Third, there is often a deficit in the particular skill set around public engagement with communities.

I want to turn to the issue of childcare provision. It touches on the wider point that Mr. Lawlor made about how each larger applicant ends up getting a consultant's report that details the childcare provision, open space or retail space in the area. The applicants are doing all of that work and there is duplication and added costs because they are all doing that. Is there some sort of argument that we should be trying to move away from that in larger applications for cost reasons, to avoid duplication of that work and to get objective data? Should it not be the local authority that does an assessment of childcare provision in an area? For example, looking at childcare provision in particular, I know that in larger applications in my area, it would be very rare that the reports that go in with planning applications are in any way accurate in terms of the level of demand and need for childcare provision in the area. Often, the reports provided with the planning applications say that there is more than enough childcare provision. They list off the providers and say there is no issue and therefore, childcare should not have to be provided with that large development. Yet, everyone in the area knows that they cannot get their kids into childcare, that there are waiting lists and people are travelling very long distances to get their children into childcare. There is a lack of sustainability around that. There can be a lack of objectivity in some of these reports that come in. It can happen with traffic studies. All sorts of traffic studies are done at strange times that are particularly quiet and whatnot. Is there a problem with that? Is there a problem on the childcare provision side? In larger developments, we need this kind of provision. There are issues with developers trying to opt out of it or getting the permission but then not getting spaces tenanted, or the size is too small so they cannot get them tenanted. How do we address these issues?