Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

However, there is an opportunity to give back some power to councillors as this was provided for in the Act passed last year. I would welcome a debate on it issue to see how this can be achieved. In general, Sinn Féin supports it.

I am also interested to know what might give grounds for the need for the Minister to intervene in the case of proposed events. I presume that the proposer has in mind the circumstances surrounding the Garth Brooks concerts. However, there are surely circumstances where such an intervention by a Minister might not only over-ride the decision of local planners but also might cause upset among local people who may have genuine objections to such an event. Is it the case that the Minister would define what he would determine the national importance of the event, as referred to in section (2)(c), as something that was perhaps popular among people planning to attend but not with those living close to the venue, as in the case of the Croke Park concerts? There could be situations where, for instance, an open air event was to be held over the space of a number of days thus causing concern among local residents. Is this Bill proposing that if the local authority with the support of democratically elected representatives decided that the planning application did not contain sufficient guarantees on various grounds, the Minister should be able to intervene and over-rule that decision? This is a matter of concern.

I live in County Laois which hosts a number of major annual events, such as the ploughing championships which is attended by approximately 250,000, with some estimates at more than 300,000, over three days, as well as the Electric Picnic event and a number of other large events. These events are handled very well in co-operation with the local authority and the councillors have an input. I would like them to have an increased input. However, it goes to show that these issues can be resolved. I agree that the area around Croke Park has high density housing and population and it is necessary to be sensitive in those circumstances. I think we need to be very careful about moving powers away from local authorities and handing the Minister such powers. In the case of the situation in Dublin, the council chamber was the place to iron out many of these difficulties where the people elected to represent the different communities around Croke Park could have had a greater input. We need to be careful about handing over such powers to Ministers.

We need to be cautious about creating about a situation where legitimate objections on the part of local planners, local representatives and local communities could simply be ignored because a proposed event was likely to bring economic benefits. I would prefer a situation where local planning for such events is made much more transparent and involves greater consultation with the community with a final decision resting with the elected councillors. I believe that this would ensure that the optimum conditions would be imposed on such events in the interest of the community and those attending them. It would also prevent a small number of people who might be living right beside a venue having a veto as the council would reflect the interests of the community in general. The councillors in the north Dublin area would represent the broader interests of the wider community, including residents and businesses.

In my view the provisions in the Planning Act relating to major events need to be updated. On that basis, I support the passing of Second Stage of this Bill, so it can move to Committee Stage where it could be amended to ensure that we have better legislation governing these events. I will be drafting a planning Bill on behalf of Sinn Féin-----

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