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

This is not a question of views; it is a question of what is in the Bill. Let me give another practical example. This is what is likely to happen if the Government proceeds down this deficient path. Let us consider, for example, the current section 28 ministerial guidelines on building heights. Let us imagine that the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, decides later this year, if this Bill passes, to transpose that transitional mechanism into a national planning policy statement. Let us use a real-life case. The section 28 guideline has been robustly defeated in the courts numerous times. It is not 100%; a recent court case took a slightly different view but, in general, the courts have struck it down.

The Minister takes that course of action which has an effect on the Poolbeg strategic development site, the highest density strategic development zone in the country with 200 units per hectare, and one I fully support. There is a strict height delineation to achieve those densities of between six and ten storeys throughout the scheme. All of a sudden, the developer on that site, who has already stated that they would like to increase the density further and increase the heights further, would put in a planning application. Dublin City Council unanimously and without any objection approved two of the highest density strategic development zone sites in the history of the State, and I commend the cross-party nature of that decision. All of a sudden, we have a conflict because central government is saying the local authority cannot have building heights in a unilateral sense in any particular development.

We know Dublin City Council's position on this. It is that a strategic development zone, because of the nature of the approval of that process, is a legal contract between the elected members, the landowners and the public. This is a real-life case because we had significant litigation on the Ronan Group's attempt to drive coach and four through the docklands strategic development zone on the same issue.

The Minister turns building heights, mandatory ministerial guidelines, into a national policy statement. He then seeks to force Dublin City Council to retrospectively amend its strategic development zone site. Dublin City Council management and elected members maintain the position they currently have, which is that they think the scheme is fine. The developer then puts in a planning application. That planning application substantially exceeds the densities and height requirements specified in the SDZ. Where does this all end up? We know where it all ends up. It ends up in court with significant delay.

I do not disagree with the need for consistency or the need for a Government to be able to set planning policy. It seems that the Government is wholly ignorant of the way in which the poor design of the section 28 mandatory ministerial guidelines results in impractical life on the ground with real developments. The Government is repeating that in the vain hope that this time around it will not make the same mistakes as it made with the section 28 ministerial guidelines.

I do not think the Minister of State understands the import of what he is proposing or the risks and dangers. I do not think he has listened to planning professionals, including the Irish Planning Institute, on this matter.

What the Government is doing is very dangerous. If the core objective is clarity and consistency to ensure good-quality, timely planning decisions, with less conflict, litigation and delay, this is not it. This is not what that looks like. Maybe I am wrong. I will be happy to admit I am wrong if, in real life, this does not transpire in the way I think it will. If I am right, the Government will not be able to say it was not warned. It will not be able to say that people did not come to the committee to say that this is not a good way to do it. While I have other amendments, and when we get to the section I will have further questions that I will raise, I believe a vote of the Oireachtas is more democratic and more legally robust. The Minister of State has yet to say anything to explain why he thinks the contrary.