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

This is an important part of the planning process and public participation. The fees and how they are structured, and changes made to them, can be a barrier to people's ability to participate. Having scrutiny by the Oireachtas based on recommendations from the Oireachtas joint committee is a very good way to go about this and is a very good way to hear from people. There are a couple of issues around fees, one of which came up during the pre-legislative scrutiny and that is the need for a sufficient income stream around the planning process for local authorities and planners. There are also the issues around not having a barrier to public participation.