Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the Mahon report. I spoke with a young man from Los Angeles today who was working as an intern in the Houses. When I asked him for his observations, he replied that matters seemed to be a bit of a mess. This outside observation is unfortunate, as is the position in which we as a body politic have found ourselves.

I agree with the sentiments expressed by Deputy Michael McGrath, in that we have a job to do as a collective body politic to gain the trust and confidence of the electorate. This is never an easy task. One need only look a few miles up the road to Northern Ireland, where a recent survey carried out by Queen's University showed that two thirds of those interviewed believed the planning system failed to uphold the public interest. Planning policy in that jurisdiction is very centralised. There is also a greater detachment between politicians and the planning process than is the case in the Republic. However, the mistrust remains. This is the challenge facing us.

From reading through the legalistic definitions of bribery and corruption, definitively proving either was difficult for the Mahon tribunal. The question is open to legal interpretation and differing opinions. Given the adage that past performance is always a good indicator of future performance, we must challenge the mindset of the past and view these findings as a motivation to change and to put in place a more robust, open and transparent planning process. This would ensure a rich dividend in terms of the trust placed in the body politic by the electorate.

The Mahon tribunal should have acknowledged a change that has occurred in the past 15 years, in that the planning process has become more open and transparent. When I entered politics in 1999, the process was less transparent. Donegal County Council introduced a geographic information system, GIS, for mapping purposes. This technology provided the public with a more open and transparent means of tracking planning applications from start to finish. Changes such as this must continue and I acknowledge that the Mahon tribunal report makes proposals and recommendations to this effect. Many of them should be considered by each local authority.

We must consider current applications in light of the need to develop a robust policy in terms of the national spatial strategy, the national development plan, local development plans and regional planning guidelines.

Different policy arenas have developed into a more open and transparent system since the establishment of the Mahon tribunal 15 years ago but I do not think they go far enough. We have to use technology and the experience gained from our mistakes to build a more robust planning system.

Over the past 15 years, 25,000 planning applications went through the system in County Donegal. Were they all open and transparent and did they undergo a legitimately rigid process? People will have their own opinions on that question. The Taoiseach has asked the Revenue Commissioners and the DPP to deal with the past transgressions set out in the report. It is important that we work towards a more open and transparent system by engaging the administration team in Donegal County Council, which is involved in a number of policy areas.

While regional planning guidelines are effective, the report recommends that representatives be elected at a regional level. A discussion is needed on this proposal for several reasons. We do not want to create a second tier of democracy when we already have representatives providing an input at local level. We should carry out a comprehensive analysis to ensure regional planning guidelines include Border issues. The North-South dynamic is positive at present and we are developing synergies in education, roads and health. We should also aspire to more effective structures at regional level that could incorporate the work being done on an ad hoc basis. There is potential for the development of urban conglomerates such as the city of Derry, the sprawl of which impacts on the east of County Donegal. We have to deal with urban sprawl at a policy level. The vision of the Good Friday Agreement was to develop integrated strategies for planning as well as the marine, education, health, roads and agriculture.

Members of this House have a collective job to do but we should also acknowledge the changing role played by county council members over the past 15 years. They have engaged in more robust debate and consultation on planning policy.

There is no point in drafting a development plan if we do not adhere to it. The consultation process for development plans must be more robust at community level. I know from being involved in the consultation process since 2000 that while planners tried to engage the public, sometimes the process turned into an opportunity for people to complain about historic planning applications or mistakes made in the past. If we are to empower communities in planning and restore trust at local level, we have to develop an action plan or mechanism which allow community ownership of the collective aspirations of an area. Nobody has a greater insight into the needs of an area than members of the community. If we want to implement the report's recommendations on openness and transparency, we have to roll up our sleeves and start consulting our communities on more than a tokenistic basis. We have to ask them what is best for their areas. The depopulation of rural areas means that schools are faced with the loss of teachers. That is a result of not involving local communities in the consultation process.

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