Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. Even though I have dealt with planners for years in the local authorities, I am not completely sure what qualifications planners have. Has there been a change of focus in the qualification to take into account issues of accessibility for disabled and autistic people? I am sure there are many planners who are also autistic. It brings to mind an architect who gave evidence at the Joint Committee on Disability Matters. She said she had been an architect for a number of years before acquiring a disability through an accident. This made her realise that what she had been designing previously was not at all suitable for disabled people. The Part M guidelines only look for a minimum standard where it is recognised that buildings are wheelchair visitable rather than liveable. Hopefully, they will be reviewed under the new legislation. Is there more of an awareness and a focus on ensuring that universal design principles are applied to building and public spaces within planning?

How serious is the issue of the shortage of planners? I was talking to a senior planner in my local area. He told me that they advertised a senior planner position recently and got no applications whatsoever. Twenty years ago they may have got 20 people looking for the position. With the issues with an Bord Pleanála and in the middle of a housing crisis, the last thing we need is to be held up on those issues because of a lack of personnel.