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

Section 24, on considerations for the issuance of a national planning statement, gives the Minister the power to set out the policy in a wide range of areas, including height and density. Section 24(1)(n) gives the Minister power to issue national planning statements that effectively tell planners how to assess planning applications, especially concerning the integration of architectural and urban design and quality standards into development plans, urban area plans, priority area plans, co-ordinated area plans and the preparation of development schemes. The discretion planners might have in making an assessment concerning a local area based on local factors could be curtailed by a national planning statement that sets out how to assess the planning application.