Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)

Democracy should represent the wishes of the people rather than the wishes of banks, developers and trade unions. These provisions mean that the Minister of the day, who is elected by the people and by Dáil Éireann, can make a strategic decision in the best interests of all the people and not just a select few in a particular area. Councillors in different areas will generally make the correct decisions, but it does not make sense strategically, for example, to build a large number of houses in Leitrim. Deputy Bannon referred to ghost towns in Longford. There is no point in councillors being allowed carte blanche to rezone land in Leitrim and Longford when there is neither the population nor the employment opportunities to support that.

If a poor decision is made by a local authority - often in the past such decisions were influenced by developers with, in some cases, legitimate donations being given - the Minister must have the power to call a halt and to amend the development plan. That is what the Minister, Deputy Gormley, has done on several occasions in recent years in respect of decisions by some Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael councillors in particular. This provision strengthens that capability of the Minister but also affords local authorities the facility to appeal such decisions and to plead special circumstances. That will protect local input and address specific local issues of concern.

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