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

I will speak in support of amendment No. 649 and make three more general points for the Minister and his officials to consider separate to the amendment, on which he has made his position clear. My own local authority area, South Dublin County Council, has a very good online system. It is not just good for applications. There is a really good online mapping system where I do not even have to know the reference number. I can go online and find it on a map, which is useful. Notwithstanding that I am in a local authority with a good track record, there can often be a significant delay between when the application is lodged and is live, and when it is available. If you live any distance from Tallaght, where you have to go to the planning office, or if you are in another local authority where the distances are even greater, getting access to the physical files is more of a challenge. There is some merit in thinking, whether as an amendment by the Minister to this legislation or at a later point, about reconsidering when the clock on the public participation element of the process kicks in. If people genuinely cannot get access to the files, notwithstanding that they may be in one council office in one end of the county, that is a problem. We are talking about local authorities, but it is the same where the board is the primary decision-making body because people physically have to travel there. There is a significant difference in the online and software systems different local authorities are using. Some are incredibly user friendly and others are quite clunky. The Minister said that the introduction of online processing times is getting better. Is that something on which he can share information with the committee, either today or at a later stage? We are all supportive of this. I do not think there is any disagreement, but it is about trying to make sure the best quality information is available at the earliest possible opportunity to allow maximum public engagement in the interests of the planning system.