Dr. Fred Logue:

It is another one of the mysteries of why this is so. This is actually not a new provision. This was proposed in July of last year and the amendment was withdrawn. It is something that seems to exist outside of the overall planning reform. What it is aimed at has never been explained. We hear noises about efficiency or whatever. The way to avoid this is to make sure we make good decisions. There is much focus on timelines but hard timelines can introduce biases into the system. This is what happened with SHDs, where the largest developments took the shortest amount of time. It removes flexibility, which then, through no fault of any competent authority, results in poor decision-making, because they are under pressure.