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

One of the strongest recommendations from pre-legislative scrutiny, which came from a number of areas, was the strong pushback against the idea of fines for late decisions. This section, in effect, means there will be fines. It means there will be penalties for the planning authorities for late decisions.

I thought the Government and Minister had listened to those recommendations from pre-legislative scrutiny and accepted them. As I said, that came from An Bord Pleanála as well as the Irish Planning Institute and a range of other organisations. Throughout the process it was said that could be counterproductive because it would take resources from an already stretched planning system.

The issue of planning fees from applicants not covering the full cost, the planning authorities and issues around that were raised during the pre-legislative scrutiny process. Why is the strong recommendation coming from a number of sectors, including the Irish Planning Institute, which represents planners across the system who are against fines and penalties, not being adhered to in this part of the Bill? Why should we be creating a financial incentive for an applicant to perhaps not agree to a time extension and appeal a decision to the commission? Surely that will clog up the system. Why is that a desirable thing to incentivise?