Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I support the amendments. Tonight legislation is being enacted that signals the beginning of the end for An Bord Pleanála. The board, as we know it, has been in place for 30 years since the mid-1970s when it was established as the Planning Appeals Board. It won and established for itself a reputation and credibility among the public. People may not always have liked its decisions, but it had credibility and was considered to be the court of appeal when it came to planning issues. In recent years, there have been changes in the role of An Bord Pleanála. The additional functions given to the board in the 2000 Planning Act added the roads function which previously had been the responsibility of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. That changed An Bord Pleanála and so will this Bill. The board will no longer be a court of planning appeal and it will now be part of the development arm of Government. It will be the State agency that from the planning point of view will facilitate developments the Government wants to see go ahead.

I have the height of regard for the integrity and independence of the members and staff of An Bord Pleanála but we have seen this conflict developing in recent years where professional planners engaged by An Bord Pleanála conduct public inquiries or oral hearings. They make a recommendation that is then overturned by the members of An Bord Pleanála, who do not appear to follow the same planning logic that was the basis for the recommendation made by the planner. They seem to follow an expectation that Government policy will be followed.

However vague that may have been up to now, it is becoming explicit in this Bill. There is no ambiguity about what is expected of An Bord Pleanála under this legislation, which is that it will give the green light to the strategic infrastructure projects listed in Schedule Seven. This will undermine public confidence and public acceptance of An Bord Pleanála. In the years ahead the board will be seen not as the fair-minded place where one brings a planning appeal but rather as the body that facilitates development with which local communities may have difficulties.

It is a great pity we are only now dealing with amendment No. 38 out of more than 200 amendments. There is no need for the Government to have insisted on a truncated debate on this Bill. In response to a question I asked on Committee Stage, the Minister acknowledged that this legislation will not be commenced until November. There is no imperative in concluding All Stages of the Bill tonight. The only reason for a guillotine in 15 minutes' time is for the political convenience of the Government. It is a controversial Bill the Government wants out of the way and buried under all the legislation that has been guillotined this week, rather than giving it the time for the scrutiny it deserves and for the consideration of the amendments tabled, most of which will not now be reached.

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