Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

All across the country we bear witness to the spatial legacy of a planning system that was put under immense strain in the past decade. Unfinished housing estates and unsustainable developments on the edge of hollowed-out towns pockmark the landscape. All the while, ordinary people seeking to build a family home on their own land feel frustrated by an expensive and unresponsive system. In County Offaly considerable time is spent by public representatives in helping local people to navigate through a system that does not seem to engage with them and which lacks popular legitimacy.

Fianna Fáil has consistently argued that a revamped planning system must engage citizens at every point if it is to work. A new planning system with real citizen engagement would be an integral part of an overhauled local government system. We have put forward detailed plans on the future of local government and argued for them in the 2013 local government legislation. These are ideas that would break the distance between ordinary citizens and the planning system. An effective planning system is a key part of promoting economic activity and creating strong environmentally sustainable communities. Weaknesses in the planning system have played a significant role in facilitating the construction of unviable developments across the country and need to be fully addressed.

Deputy Catherine Murphy's omnibus Bill takes a miscellaneous approach to several issues in the planning system, namely, development contributions, estates taken in charge, planning enforcement notices and planning permission roll-overs. Overall, it is a welcome Bill that would rectify several weaknesses in the planning process. While we have some concerns about certain aspects of the Bill, these could be addressed on Committee Stage if the Government is willing, as it should, to engage with it.

The Bill provides for the establishment of a publicly available, updated national planning compliance register drawn from information on enforcement notices placed by local authorities across the country. The goal of the register is to promote enhanced openness in the area of compliance and to facilitate access to essential information on past failures to comply. The legislation would enhance the prohibitive aspect of the law in combating unauthorised development. It earmarks rogue developers who have systematically dismissed planning concerns. This information would help to inform future planning decisions in shaping the future of each county. The register would help to underpin a cultural shift that would penalised unauthorised developments and retrospective planning permissions. Highlighting non-compliance, in a manner similar to a litter register, or tax non-compliance would help to underline the negative impact that breaches of planning law have on the landscape.

Regarding development plan consistency, the Bill tightens legal language in regard to the consistency of proposed developments with the local area plan, or integrated area plan, for future developments. A key issue that emerged at the height of the boom was the lack of alignment between regional, county and local development plans, creating an excess supply of zoned land and, ultimately, vacant units. The spatial legacy of ghost estates and the overhang of vacant housing reflect the misplacement of housing units across the country. Strengthening the link between plans and the distribution of demographic plans would be an important step, towards providing homes, facilities and transport links where they were required. Permissions have to reflect the vision laid out for the area as decided by the democratically elected councillors.

The legislation seeks to bring greater transparency and accountability to development contributions which have been agreed as part of permission for certain classes of development. The Bill would create a publicly available centralised national schedule of agreed development contributions. A fair and balanced development contribution scheme is an important part of incentivising development, while financing future infrastructural requirements. Local authorities across the county have cut development contribution scheme contributions in order to attract investment in the moribund construction industry. While property prices have partially recovered in Dublin and other major urban centres, they remain stagnant or declining beyond the M50. A register of development contributions would help to outline best practice across the country and add to the public debate about competitive development contribution rates. It is imperative that the contribution system does not act as a drag on viable construction investments across the country.

The part of the Bill on planning permission roll-overs might present problems as it might unfairly penalise legitimate developments delayed through no fault of the developers with additional financial burdens. The Bill seeks to introduce specific circumstances in which an extension of an appropriate period would only be granted for developments consisting of traditional housing estates or apartment complexes. The roll-over permissions referred to are a sensitive issue, given that many developments were unable to be completed in the midst of the recession owing to the rapid and ongoing drought of available credit.

A key feature of the Planning and Development Act 2010 is the provision for an extension for planning permits for developments. This corresponds with the provisions in section 238 of the NAMA Act, pertaining to Part 3 of Schedule 8, where an application can be made to extend an existing planning permission for five years. A planning authority may extend the period of the permission where it is proved, including an explanation of the circumstances, with evidence, that there were considerations of a commercial, economic or technical nature beyond the control of the applicant that substantially militated against either the commencement of development or the carrying out of substantial works. A further requirement in that legislation is that there be no significant changes to the development objectives in the development plan or to the regional development objectives in the regional planning guidelines for the area since the date of the permission that would make the development inconsistent with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.

The changes outlined in the Bill might clash with what was envisaged by the Planning and Development Act 2010 as a respite for individuals undermined by the credit drought, for example. If the Government is willing to engage, I am sure we can address this issue by way of a more appropriate wording on Committee Stage.

The part of the Bill on bringing estates in charge would place new obligations on planning authorities where permission for housing estates or apartment complexes had been granted subject to the payment of a bond or securities in the event of non-completion. It also seeks to eliminate any case where a bond may expire before a local authority has a chance to redeem it, which it is hoped would, in effect, provide an early warning system for the expiration of a bond or security. The relevant section seeks to define those residents who may petition a local authority to take an estate in charge as a majority of those casting votes in a plebiscite of the owners of the houses involved. It would further reduce the amount of time before an estate might be taken in charge by a local authority from seven years to two.

Despite the fact that 1.6 million homes are being levied for the local property tax which is ostensibly for local services, countless estates have not been taken in charge by the local council. The homeowners are, in effect, paying for services they are not receiving. Taking estates in charge at a faster rate is vital to addressing this gross unfairness in the property tax system.

The Bill tackles some of the outstanding areas to be addressed in the planning system. The Government should approach it in a constructive light and the spirit in which it is intended. We could move to strengthen it on Committee Stage with the co-operation of all parties. Such co-operation has been evident in the speeches of Members since Deputy Catherine Murphy initiated the debate.

I hope the Government will give an indication that it is prepared to allow this Bill to progress to Committee Stage and to work with all parties to strengthen its provisions for the betterment of those we seek to represent.

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