Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

We should prioritise our work on SHDs early, given that we expect an increase in applications. Although some areas are covered by local area plans, LAPs, or master plans, there are numerous applications in areas where no mass plan applies.

Where local authorities would taken an holistic view of all those multiple applications, An Bord Pleanála does not seem to be doing so. It is really important that that is prioritised in the course of this. We all have areas of our constituencies that are impacted by that.

One of the positive elements of strategic housing development, SHD, process was that it gave local authority members a statutory role in a report that was submitted to the application. That had never been done before because each member put in their own application and there was no statutory process or statutory meeting about same. There has to be elements of it that do not drop and we must make sure that we give local authority members that strong role in the plan.