Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

The professor said that, as inevitably as night follows day, if one does not compress the project, costs will begin to escalate in profound ways, as we have seen in respect of infrastructural projects such as the tunnel and so on. Another issue relates to the delivery of projects rather than to the Bill, that is, the necessity to introduce fixed price contracts to deliver projects on time after the planning stage. I welcome the fact that work is being done in this respect.

The aforementioned situation was a small anecdote to illustrate how other countries have grasped this nettle, namely, once a decision is made to go ahead with a project, its planning and construction processes must be streamlined if it is to be delivered in the quickest possible time. The Bill seeks to do this while providing adequate safeguards in terms of public consultation. I heard Deputy Ferris's contribution in this respect.

It is the reality that these projects are becoming complex and unwieldy. I say this with the greatest respect for local planners who deal with a one-off house in County Limerick or so forth on one day and an incinerator or tunnel stretching 15 or 20 miles on the next. These projects require different specialties. The Bill seeks to separate projects that need to be fast-tracked and require specialist care and attention, which is a reasonable proposition.

The Shannon Foynes Port Company has proposed to build a major infrastructural project, that is, a tunnel from the port at Foynes in County Limerick to Shannon Airport to link both transportation hubs in a way that would allow significant volumes of manufactured goods to be brought in and broken down and then distributed via Shannon Airport. While the project will have a minimal effect as only a handful of people would be affected, it will take approximately two years to go through the system.

For some time, I intended to put something that I have experienced on the record, that is, people who abuse the planning process wholesale by making objections and subsequent appeals to An Bord Pleanála for the sole intention of extracting money from the relevant developer, be it a State agency or private body. Those people know that because their rights are enshrined in legislation, they hold the power to frustrate and delay developments for years, which is an abuse of the system. The Bill, in conjunction with other measures and planning legislation, seeks to curtail this type of abuse. It is high time for such to occur. I commend the Bill to the House.

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