John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)

I thank the witnesses for coming before the committee. I will start with an issue brought to my attention approximately 12 months ago, whereby someone seeking planning permission for 98 residential homes received a letter and was told that due to the statutory guidelines the time for the decision would be extended beyond 18 weeks. I got a sense from the letter that there was an element of disinterest, a lack of empathy and no acknowledgement of the costs on the applicant's side. Mr. Mullan has made the case that the office prioritises large-scale residential development because of the financial consequences to An Coimisiún Pleanála but I get a sense there is no empathy or understanding of the financial consequences for the individuals caught up in these applications. As part of the change from An Bord Pleanála to An Coimisiún Pleanála I ask Mr. Mullan to look not only at structural changes in governance but to show a bit of empathy, understanding and urgency for the people caught up in these cases.

In recent years there has been growing disconnect between applicants and the planning process. I have seen this in the applications processes and at the level of county council with regard to local town plans and national development plan reviews. We are getting far too caught up in the theory of how we colour code land on maps in comparison to how it is working out practically on the ground. There is no understanding of how landowners potentially want to use or not use their land. There may be an element of Government policy that needs to follow this, and I completely appreciate this point, but I ask whether there are councils that are impeding the implementation of Government planning policy. Are there county councils throughout the country that are impeding the implementation of planning policy?