Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 913 seeks to remove the words "20 per cent" to "not less than 50" in section 224. As previously stated, any amendment to Part V policy risks delaying housing delivery as the sector comes to terms with its implications. With the Planning and Development Bill 1999, President McAleese referred Part V of the Bill to the Supreme Court for consideration of its compatibility with the Constitution. The court considered whether Part V restricted the rights of landowners and in its decision it applied what it described as a "test of proportionality", an approach generally taken by the courts. To pass the proportionality test, the measures must, in the words of the court:

(a) be rationally connected to the objective and not be arbitrary, unfair or based on irrational considerations;

(b) impair the right as little as possible; and

(c) be such that their effects on rights are proportional to the objective.

It is uncertain whether increasing the Part 7 requirement above 20% would pass the same proportionality test and legal advice would be needed. Furthermore, increasing the percentages could impact on the perceived viability of developing sites and risk the overall supply of housing. On that basis, we are not accepting this amendment.

Section 219(11) allows a local authority to have more than 20%, as the Deputy knows, and the LDA goes up to 100%.