Michael Fitzpatrick (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2009, which seeks to introduce a number of changes to planning and development. The key objectives of the Bill are to support economic renewal and promote sustainable development. It also aims to bring about a closer alignment between the national spatial strategy, regional planning guidelines, development plans and local area plans in addition to introducing a requirement for an evidence-based core strategy in development plans.

Ireland's planning system was first introduced on 1 October 1964 when the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act 1963 came into effect. Since then, a large body of planning legislation and regulations have emerged, which is said to reflect "the expansion of the statutory development control system to meet the demands arising from economic growth, rising public concern in the area of environmental control, a desire on the part of the public for a statutory and independent planning appeals system, and a growing European dimension arising from our membership of the European Union". Expansion of the planning code culminated in the Planning and Development Act 2000, which the Department describes as the starting point for the modern planning code.

In the regulatory impact analysis of the Bill, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government highlights a number of what it describes as qualitative improvements in the planning system in recent years. These include the consolidation and modernisation of the planning code under the Planning and Development Act 2000; the publication of the national spatial strategy in 2002 and the regional planning guidelines adopted in 2004; the enactment of the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006, which provides a single, consent process for major private and public infrastructure projects; and the provision of comprehensive guidance to local authorities in regard to, inter alia, development plan preparation, the development management process, strategic environmental assessment, rural housing, retail planning, apartment design and space standards, the planning system and sustainable urban residential development. In brief, since the consolidation and modernisation of planning laws in 2000, there have been numerous amendments to the Planning and Development Act 2000.

The Planning and Development Act 2002 amended Part V of the 2000 Act in regard to social and affordable housing to provide more flexibility for the manner in which developers can comply with obligations under Part V of the Act. A number of miscellaneous amendments were made, for example in regard to local area plans, development plans and judicial review of compulsory purchase orders. The Housing Act 2004 provided for the opening up of the affordable housing market to financial institutions. The Planning and Development Act 2006 made substantial changes to the 2000 Act, most significantly in introducing a special application process for strategic infrastructure developments, whereby applications are made directly to An Bord Pleanála. Further amendments included modifications to the procedure for the refusal of planning permission for past failures to comply and changes to special judicial review proceedings to cover "any act done" by the planning authority or the board. Finally, Part V of the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 amended the 2000 Act to provide for consistency between the Dublin Transport Authority's transport strategy and the plans and guidelines of planning authorities within the greater Dublin area. It set out a role for the Dublin Transport Authority in land use and planning in the greater Dublin area. The Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009 proposes to provide for a consultative role for the National Transport Authority in the preparation of regional planning guidelines, similar to that already provided for the Dublin Transport Authority. This is most welcome.

Local authorities and An Bord Pleanála are responsible for directly operating Ireland's physical planning system. According to the Department, its primary role is "to provide the essential legislative framework and policy guidelines while seeking to minimise the regulatory burden and cost of the system". Basing planning on population targets has the potential to disadvantage rural communities along with many smaller towns and villages. Parts of my constituency of North Kildare, along with north Offaly, were designated disadvantages under Offaly and Kildare Partnership. Sustaining these communities and encouraging people and business to the areas has been problematic. Besides, Kildare borders the BMW region and this puts my constituency at a disadvantage.

Using population targets will not get commercial or housing development in the smaller villages, due to the size of development that will be allowable under population targets. Small development will not be viable, as developers have to provide infrastructure, such as water, sewerage, footpaths and traffic calming for the entire village.

Residents in these areas need improved infrastructure and the only way this can be achieved is by the introduction of appropriate developments. I hear much talk about gateways and hubs and encouraging population growth in these towns. None of these towns are in Kildare. Apart from the large towns, minimum rural housing will be allowed and this will further disadvantage rural communities, particularly farm families and those involved in agriculture and rural enterprise along with new residents who would have a valuable contribution to make. I am thinking of teachers, gardaí and professional people, who would normally come to live in rural areas and provide services as well as becoming involved in the community.

There are villages in my constituency which are now classified as settlements. When that was done in the last development plan everyone believed they were being earmarked for development, whether housing, industry or whatever. With the new population growth idea however, this is not the case. People have bought land within these settlements. I am speaking about small developers, such as a local man who bought a small holding and then sought planning permission for it. He built a few houses but is now unable to sell them. He has gone broke and his company is in liquidation. We need to provide infrastructure. To do that, we must have developments big enough to provide it.

We will lose out on the community gain which came from these developments. They were providing the infrastructure needed. A rural village in County Kildare which did not have a water and sewerage plant got the opportunity under the plan to provide them. If the Minister's new guidelines on population are enforced such places will not get water and sewerage treatment plants and neither will they have schools or anything else. This is a much bigger issue than is realised.

Planning must have a bottom-up approach together with a top-down approach. Officials prepare draft guidelines and plans and, in the case of local authorities, elected members adopt these plans. It is my view that public representatives should have independent technical and legal advice available to them in this work. For too long public representatives have been overwhelmed by official-speak along with an overwhelming amount of documentation and an inability to get officials to accept how these plans effect ordinary people, such as people wanting to relocate within their own county. Under the Kildare development plan a person can only receive one planning permission. If he or she wants to upsize or downsize, a second planning permission will not be given and the householder must go and live in a town or village. A person who wants to sell or relocate for family reasons may want an occupation clause lifted. This will not be done until the five year period has expired. Families who want to move from an urban to a rural area for family reasons or for work or business will not be allowed to do so. Take the example of a family who obtain a local authority house in a town and whose sons or daughters, when they need housing, go back to the family's original home. They will not be given permission to build because they are now classified as urban dwellers. What is wrong with rural families moving from one county to another or building a home in their adopted county?

Local needs and local growth needs in county development plans should be flexible in these recessionary times and ensure good planning is adhered to. It is important that objectives for development plans should recognise existing settlement patterns and not be prescriptive or give rise to stringent requirements that effectively prevent investment in new development and businesses from operating once they have received the necessary permission.

Towns and villages should have development plans and should not be classified as settlements. Development plans clearly outline planning and development objectives for the future.

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