Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

The Bill does not deal with the latter point but it certainly deals with the point raised by Deputy Catherine Murphy. In the lifetime of this Government we, that is, the taxpayers, have created equivalent water treatment capacity, for sewerage purposes, for an additional 3 million people. If my memory serves me correctly, drinking water capacity has been created for an additional 1.25 million people. Given that there has been a massive investment in such projects by taxpayers, it is important that their purpose cannot be stymied by hoarding land. On the other hand, the Deputy is right in saying that local authorities tend to over-zone. They do so for a positive reason, so people will not have an easy stranglehold on land. In the recent past, however, some local authorities have gone way over the top. I reluctantly intervened in two cases because of substandard planning — in one case to strike down the county development plan and in the other to issue warnings that I would strike down the plan. I do not like the idea of Ministers intervening directly but the law is the law and if people behave improperly by excessive use of zoning, it must be curtailed.

The legislation will answer the long-standing debate we have had since the Kenny report was published. As regards Deputy O'Dowd's point, I believe it will have the effect of demonstrating that the Houses of the Oireachtas are anxious to ensure that people who have significant amounts of land are not tempted to interfere with the housing market by sitting on it. I hope it is passed early in the next Dáil.

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