Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Changing the law can change behaviour if the law is right and if there are adequate sanctions. Therefore, it is important that we have legislation that goes to the heart of some of the worst practices we have seen in Irish politics to date. The Bill can contribute to this, but the Minister should accept suggestions to improve it on Committee Stage. It is important that the Bill go as far as it can on this issue and I will put forward some suggestions in my contribution.

We are all aware of and many speakers have given a long list of examples of how the system can be corrupted that would not inspire one with confidence in the political system. We had the beef tribunal, the Ansbacher accounts report and the Mahon and Moriarty tribunal reports on the planning system. We also had the report on the taxi licence system. There was war about the taxi licences at the time and there are mixed views on how it played out, with taxi drivers not being too happy with the result.

There is a huge cost to the State of corruption of the processes. Take, for example, the planning process. We only have to look around the country to see how difficult it is to provide public transport because of our dispersed population or how expensive it is to provide for water and wastewater systems because we do not have a normal settlement pattern. The provision of these facilities is not without cost to taxpayers. The problem is that we are providing facilities in the least cost effective way. When the regional authorities, the national spatial strategy and the regional planning guidelines were put in place, behaviour changed because people had to comply with the regime. This brought an improvement. However, I am somewhat concerned about the construction sector in terms of its strength. Looking, for example, at the position of items planned for the Order Paper, there is significant lobbying, including looking for a reduction in the windfall tax, development contributions and a range of other measures. I have noted, for example, the position of particular Bills on the A list. First, we have a Bill to do with Construction 2020. I would be first to argue there is a deficit in construction, but there is a deficit also in regard to problems which have been neglected, for example, the building control Bill which proposes to regulate builders, the housing regulation Bill which will provide for the likes of the housing associations to be formalised and the planning and development Bill which will include some of the Mahon tribunal recommendations. These Bills fall way behind what is on the A list. What is on the list is precisely what the construction sector most wants to see changed.

As a public representative at both local and national level, this is the second time I have experienced a crash in the construction sector. We are moving back into construction without having repaired the problems or addressed the issues involved. We are starting the process again. The Government just has a short time left in office and the important changes that should have been made before construction started again have not been made. I am concerned about the strength of the construction sector and the fact that, as a force, it may not engage again where it can because it wants to see changes made in the budget.

I brought forward legislation that was not opposed by the Government and which sought to rebalance consumer protection in the context of planning. My legislation proposed the introduction of a national register to register bonds or development contributions and builders with a history of non-compliance. However, while it is accepted that some of these proposals will find a way into legislation, that is very far down the line. We do not seem to have dealt with this issue and I am concerned about the lobbying that continues to be carried out.

Every day in this House we see thousands of pieces of communication, most of which are fine. They come from individual constituents who are trying to access services and facilities or informing us of what they think should be done. That is not what the Bill is about, rather it is about professional lobbying. I often wonder about individuals who ask about how they can be effective from the point of view of lobbying and I have put together a guidance document to give to people as too often there is an imbalance between professional lobbyists and individuals. These individuals are equally as entitled to have their voices heard in a proportionate way.

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