Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I am pleased to speak on the Bill. I recall that during a previous contribution on Second Stage of an environmental Bill, I made repeated reference to my home county of Wicklow and Deputy Glennon later berated me for doing so. I make no apology for representing the views of the people of County Wicklow and part of County Carlow who elected me, and I will not hesitate to continue to fulfil that important role.

County Wicklow has had several high profile cases in which difficulties arose in progressing infrastructure projects. They include a delay of 12 or 13 years in constructing a sewerage plant in Arklow due to objections made by a small number of people. The result has been that raw sewage continues to be deposited in the sea. I do not propose to list the litany of procedures which have already been exhausted as they are too complicated for a mere mortal such as me to follow. I do not know the current position of the proposed plant because I and residents of the area have grown weary of tabling parliamentary questions on the issue, but raw sewerage continues to flow into the Irish Sea off the Arklow bank.

Deputies will also recall the furore associated with a road building project in the Glen of the Downs when a group of eco-warriors camped out and caused more damage to the area than the subsequent construction works, which included a tree planting programme. The new road is now used by many people, including eco-warriors, and has made life easier for commuters. I have not noticed any negative impact on the environment and, in fact, the road will enhance the area in the long-term because many more trees were planted than were removed during the works.

The lack of infrastructure has been a prominent feature of public debate in recent years. Ireland has experienced rapid growth in the number of people in employment and the number of cars on the roads. While we must all share the blame for the pressure these developments have placed on infrastructure, the Government must shoulder the main burden of blame because it has been in the driving seat throughout most of the relevant period. Departmental officials and those involved in political life are too involved in the day-to-day running of projects and carrying out fire brigade actions. As a result, they do not plan strategically and the country has paid the cost of this failure. I hope we will learn a valuable lesson.

In light of the recent problems to emerge in the area of criminal law, it could be argued that if the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform were to employ a futurologist to examine issues and forecast potential problems, as many private companies do, many of the problems we experience would not arise. It would not take much to pay a few people to think rather than act.

We will all be aware of several small projects in our own areas which we would have liked completed in recent years but which did not proceed owing to a lack of money, vision or will. I ask the Minister of State to relay to his senior Minister my proposal that county managers and directors of services visit urban areas and rural villages to examine local problems and take on board the views of local representatives who have the general well-being of their area at heart and see things officials do not see. They could point out the problems to try to have them addressed.

The absence of accountability among local authorities causes frustration and few members of local communities have time for their local authority because they do not see its presence locally or what good it does. Many simple problems are not addressed, even though they could easily be rectified if local communities were given €10,000 or €20,000 to do so. Politicians waste a great deal of time relaying requests from local communities to local authorities to have basic housekeeping measures carried out. They may involve clearing out a ditch, washing a sign or removing a corner. For this reason, some form of inspection process is required whereby administrators go into local communities to look at the deficits and difficulties experienced in specific areas.

This Bill has been a number of years in the making. As previous speakers stated, its purpose is to strike a balance between the common good and individual rights. While this may appear an easy task from an objective point of view, it may prove a little more difficult at a subjective level. A failing common to us all is that infrastructure projects are fine when they are in someone else's back yard but are not so pleasant when they are in ours.

It is important that the House sends out a message that the purpose of the Bill is not to override environmental concerns or bulldoze projects through. Environmental considerations must remain paramount and, in this connection, I note the requirement to include an environmental impact statement with an application for planning permission. I hope, however, that the legislation will streamline the planning process.

The Bill includes a list of the type of projects which may be considered under the strategic consent process. The Minister noted that many issues will go before the board for adjudication. I wonder whether it would be preferable to remove the planning section in local authorities given that virtually every planning application goes before An Bord Pleanála in any event. Rather than submitting applications to local authorities, it would be preferable to pool resources in one body of final arbitration. I often come across applications which do not receive the attention they deserve from the relevant local authority because officials take the view that any decision will be appealed to An Bord Pleanála and it is preferable, therefore, having held up the application for several months, to pass the problem on to the higher authority. If this body works successfully, I would like to see its role expanded rather than maintaining a narrow focus. Nowadays, any proposed development of five to ten houses is appealed to An Bord Pleanála. We are aware of the long delays that can occur when the board deals with appeals to it.

The Bill refers to elected representatives having an input in the new process, which is welcome. It will be interesting to see how elected representatives vote. One of the things we decry in local government is the fact that local representatives have no power, yet when they have power, they fail to exercise it. If we are asked to site a landfill or adjudicate on a Traveller halting site, we run a mile, yet these issues must be faced up to. That can only be done if everybody takes responsibility for addressing problems in their own areas and an onus is placed on them to do so. Kicking the ball from Billy to Jack is not satisfactory. Unfortunately, politicians get away with it because the public is not conversant with the system in play. The public is not aware of people who consistently oppose matters.

People will always lobby against controversial projects. It is a pity we do not have a plaque on each project, however, to state who supported or opposed it. Once a project is running successfully, it is difficult to find those who were initially opposed to it. The Minister, Deputy Roche, will be familiar with a shopping centre in Greystones, County Wicklow, which was opposed by a number of people. The project went to An Bord Pleanála but it would be difficult to find people nowadays who do not support the centre. The same could be said for road and housing projects.

Councillors must have responsibility and a little more power than they enjoy. They will have an input as a result of this legislation. The Minister was a councillor for a long period so he will know that councillors become weary of going cap in hand or on their knees, so to speak, to various directors humbly seeking a small favour. They need to have more power than that. I hope that in the short time the Minister has left in that job, he might be able to——

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