Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the witnesses for their attendance this morning.

As I served on a council for about 18 months, I know that when it comes to the passing of a local area plan it is the executive function of councillors to give their approval. Even with the best will in the world of the executive, they can decide to reject, include or remove certain aspects of the plan. That situation can leave some town development plans unbalanced. In terms of the role played by the witnesses in setting up the national planning framework, councillors work at that level. Ms Martin has mentioned that she is a member of the joint ministerial committee on road safety. How does one ensure that the end product is not distorted?

What about when there is a change of usage? Originally a town development plan might have included a shop or a boutique but then someone decides to install a fast-food outlet. I have seen how town development plans have been written. A premises could tick all of the boxes, by which I mean a venue can be used for commercial use or as an hotel when a town has an urban centre, which in small towns and villages will not be not 100 miles away from the local schools. As a unit will have a plethora of alternative uses, straight away the proposal is approved even though one wants, with the best will in the world, to have everything at a remove from younger persons and at the correct distance but the plan get dilutes as things go along. Have the witnesses experienced that situation? How do county managers prevent that from happening?