Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach and members of the committee. We will all be acutely aware of the significance of this Bill. It is one of the largest in the history of the State, running to over 700 pages and 541 sections. It is complex. It necessarily requires and includes multiple cross-references both internally and in relation to other regulations and legislation, which must be kept accurate and precise when any changes are made. It is 25 years since the last consolidated planning Bill, which came into the Dáil and Seanad in 1999.

We have a large number of amendments to deal with on Committee Stage, both from myself and committee members. I know we have had some commentary on that. I would like to thank committee members for their engagement with officials and indeed for the amendments they put forward. I would just like to point out in relation to the large number of amendments that a sizeable portion of them are technical and of a drafting nature. They simply seek to clarify language, improve that cross-referencing and ultimately make the legislation as user-friendly as possible for both the public and practitioners. Given the scale and complexity of the Bill, if a word is being amended for clarity this results in dozens of subsequent amendments to change it throughout the Bill to ensure the consistency of language and, really importantly, for absolute legal clarity.

The large number of amendments from Deputies is a testament to the importance of planning to us all but it is not, perhaps, surprising given the size of the Bill. Through the passage of this, I am sure it will be to the forefront of all our minds that the planning legislation we have in the State does need to be updated and modernised to ensure we can deliver the developments not just in housing but also the strategic developments and infrastructure that we need in a streamlined way, while keeping central the role of the general public and indeed third parties.

I see there are a number of themes in the amendments tabled by Deputies, particularly in relation to the Gaeltacht and Irish-language planning matters, and biodiversity and climate matters also. While these issues are already referenced in the Bill, my officials are reviewing them again to ensure they are appropriately referenced within a planning context and, if appropriate, I may bring forward amendments on Report Stage.

While some amendments brought forward by Deputies are of merit, I will need to consider these ones further in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General and, if appropriate, bring them forward as Report Stage amendments. Given the complex nature of the Bill and the significant interrelationship between its various sections, it is important to ensure they are appropriately drafted and do not cause any unintended consequences in any other areas of the Bill.

As I just mentioned, the purpose of the Bill is to provide a new and updated legislative framework for the proper spatial planning and sustainable development of our country, to operate at national, regional and local levels and ensure that the planning system functions to support and to regulate the development of both land-based and maritime-based development and infrastructure, while also enhancing our assets and amenities and preserving and improving the quality of the environment. It will replace the Planning and Development Act 2000, which has been in operation for more than two decades, as I just mentioned, and has become difficult for both the public and practitioners to navigate to its full potential due to the number of amendments that have happened in that time.

The planning landscape has also changed considerably over that period with the advent of the national planning framework as well as Ireland's obligation to a growing number of EU directives and environmental considerations. The Bill ensures that the planning system remains fit for purpose to meet the needs of future populations while maintaining the very careful balance that needs to be struck between public policy objectives, environmental considerations and, very importantly, the participation of the public in a transparent and fair system. It also ensures the national, regional and local tiers of planning maintain alignment and encourage debate and participation, particularly regarding the objectives of compact urban growth and environmental sustainability, and are more effectively focused on the plan-making stage rather than emerging at the later planning application stage. The introduction of statutory periods for decision-making for all consent processes, including for an coimisiún pleanála, will bring a certainty to consent processes for both the public and stakeholders involved in the delivery of key infrastructure such as housing and renewable energy.

The Bill provides mechanisms for the Government to make clear provisions for national planning policy, measures and guidance in the form of the national planning framework and national planning statements, delivered through a plan-led system based on an integrated hierarchy of plan-making consisting of the national planning framework, three regional, spatial and economic strategies, 31 local authority development plans, and area plans as mandated or required by local planning authorities. This hierarchy of plans will also underpin delivery of national climate objectives, ensure there is transparent and timely decision-making, facilitate consistency and quality in decision-making that is proportionate and sound, and incorporate and encourage public participation in plan-making and decision-making processes. The Bill clarifies the role of the Minister and planning bodies in the planning processes and that of the newly constructed an coimisiún pleanála as the independent body to determine appeals and applications for strategic development.

Overall, the Bill will enable changes to the planning system that will serve to enhance economic prosperity, quality of life, social cohesion and environmental standards for the benefit of present and future generations. Beyond revisions to remove duplication, ambiguity and unnecessary complexity that have developed over the past two decades, much of the general approach to the systems set out in the Planning and Development Act 2000 remain in place and are substantially unchanged as they are deemed to be working effectively. The focus as regards those parts of the Act has been to improve clarity for those using the legislation, both the public and practitioners, to provide clearer language and to enhance layout and more logically sequential processes, all to optimise efficiency.

I advise Members that I also intend to bring forward a number of amendments on Report Stage. I am currently examining how best to strengthen the planning system to deal with spurious planning submissions and appeals. This may include a requirement for a person or organisation making a submission on a planning application or making an appeal to submit a statutory declaration with that submission confirming his or her bona fides that the submission is made in good faith, with appropriate penalties for anyone making a false declaration. Those changes we are working on came from feedback from many members of this committee, both Government and Opposition.

I am also considering the introduction of revised governance arrangements for the Office of the Planning Regulator, including the option of having a governance or oversight board for that office. While I am bringing forward a number of amendments today to deal with the transitional arrangements, I expect to bring forward further provisions on Report Stage, including in respect of judicial review, compensation claims and notices given by an appropriate authority to an owner or an occupier of a property in advance of an authorised person entering a premises or land, as well as extension of duration provisions. My officials are also undertaking a review to identify amendments to existing enactments on the Statute Book to update references to the Planning and Development Act 2000 with references to this Bill when enacted. It is anticipated these consequential amendments will be appended to the Bill in the form of a new Part.

I thank the committee for the work it has done heretofore, all the members for what they have done on the pre-legislative scrutiny side, and all the stakeholders who made submissions on the pre-legislative scrutiny. I assure Members that I intend, as Minister, along with my colleagues, the Ministers of State, to listen very carefully to the amendments that are put forward and to work co-operatively and in a constructive way to ensure the efficient passing of this legislation. Fundamentally, as I said at the start, the reason we are doing this is to ensure we have planning legislation and a planning system that is fit for purpose and that underpins the development we need in Ireland right now for this generation and for generations to come.