Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is the first Government to have taken any real steps towards reforming our planning system so that it is fair, fit for purpose and, most importantly, serves the common good of the people. Previous governments were happy to let their planning system be dominated by endless greed and, on occasion, the power of what lay within an alluring brown envelope. The Mahon tribunal lasted 15 years and resulted in a 3,270-page report. This Government is acting on its many findings and recommendations and I strongly welcome the transparent, fair and accountable approach we are taking.

Such change cannot happen overnight and if we want real and long lasting change in our approach to planning, we must ensure we do it right this time. As a former Dún Laoghaire county councillor, I am very aware of the many bureaucratic issues, grey areas and downright lack of fairness and transparency that can arise around planning. We are all too familiar with the sights of depressing ghost estates, empty retail and business parks and residential zones in areas that should never have been sanctioned. Unfortunately, many people have lost faith in the planning applications system. This cannot continue. Transparency and accountability are key to ensuring that no planning fiascos like ghost estates, the building of housing estates and apartment blocks on water plains or Priory Hall ever occur again. It simply cannot be the case that a young couple encounters one bureaucratic difficulty after another in their planning application.

Let us not forget the real steps this Government has taken in trying to fix previous government mess-ups such as the pyrite issue and Priory Hall. I strongly welcome the establishment of a new planning regulator. It will greatly help with the assessment and evaluation of development plans. Most importantly, it will act as a watchdog for us all. I have had endless distressed constituents contact me on difficult and complex matters of planning which often seem very unfair. I cannot help, I cannot intervene but a regulator can. The regulator can act independently.

I urge the constituents of Dún Laoghaire and all over the country to be vigilant and to draw the regulator’s attention to the failings of local authorities to implement their own planning decisions. We must restore confidence and ensure that we are building sustainable communities, not apartments with wafer-thin walls where a toilet cistern flush can be heard in the next apartment. People should not be put through the mill and caused undue worry, stress and expense. I am pleased to hear that the Minister will shortly be publishing arrangements for the preparation of a new national planning framework. I urge all relevant stakeholders, including the public, to engage in the consultation for this framework so that lessons can be learned and confidence restored in our planning system. I look forward to the legislation being published.

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