Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

When we had our first discussion on these amendments before the break for Private Members' business, the Minister of State tried to tell me that the Government is doing what I have been recommending. That is not true, however. The Government is not following my recommendation. Section 33(1)(a) of the Bill proposes to amend section 96 of the 2000 Act "in subsection (2), by inserting "prior to the lodgement of a commencement notice within the meaning of Part II of the Building Control Regulations 1997". After one gets planning permission, one has to wait for a certain period in case objections are made before one reaches the stage at which one can lodge a commencement notice. The Minister of State is still talking about having a debate with the builder or developer after he or she is given planning permission. There is a debate before the commencement notice. If the Government wants a clearcut operation and is genuinely interested in ring-fencing a ghettoproofed system with a guarantee of a social and affordable element on every site, I reckon it should include that written in black and white as a condition of planning before the individual gets planning permission. That would ensure there is no debate afterwards. My argument for ensuring there is no debate afterwards is that certain players are getting deals in such circumstances. Some people are getting deals afterwards and some people are not. Things are being left too open. This section of the Bill talks about "the transfer to the ownership of the planning authority, or to the ownership of persons nominated by the authority in accordance with this Part, of houses on any other land within the functional area of the planning authority". I suggest that the inclusion of terms like "any other land" is where ghettoisation comes from. Rather than insisting on the supply of housing units on the relevant site in line with Part V, the Government is proposing to allow other lands to be provided in lieu of those units. If the Government does not provide for ring-fencing and prevent developers from supplying units elsewhere, we will have ghettoisation forever. It needs to stop what it is doing.

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