Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support the regulations. For years, many elected representatives here have said that planning must be made simpler in certain situations in order that we have housing. Unfortunately, many people have moved out of towns and small villages in rural areas and this has left them like ghost towns because no one is living there any longer. We need to ensure that we make things simple. At its best, the planning system can be very onerous, particularly in the context of many of our rural areas.

There was a time when there could have been ten or 12 licensed premises in a town and many shops. Unfortunately, we have seen how banks have absconded from rural parts of Ireland. We note the change of use which is required which could facilitate a circumstance where instead of a building looking shabby, that it could be done up and have people living in it, and provide them with a home. It is very important. It would be a step in the right direction. It would not solve all our problems but it would help and would be a step in the right direction.

I agree with others who spoke of the need to ensure that fire regulations etc. are adhered to.

What we need - it is grand putting down a motion here to change regulations or whatever - is staff up to speed in the different authorities so that they do not putting applicants through torture for hours on end trying to get something through because sometimes procedures can be differently in different local authorities around the country.

I have something to ask the Minister of State that is not directly connected to this motion but that relates to the planning issue. A circular was issued to county managers about one-off housing. For living communities, we need the sons and daughters of families to be able to live in those areas. If we keep letting populations go down, we will continue to see the numbers in some schools in rural areas decline. The Minister of State, Deputy English, coming from a rural area, probably understands this better than most. Whatever his officials, who might not live and work in rural parts of Ireland, might think, the Minister of State knows it fairly well. I would ask Deputy English to put a stop to that type of thinking straight away. We also need to ensure we simplify the planning process as much as possible.

There is something else I would like the Minister of State to do that would be of benefit to the country. We have talked about it over the past few months. We saw the Apple planning process in Athenry and what the company has gone through. I note that one of the same people is on the high road again, objecting to a project in Dublin. We need to forward-plan and perhaps pick out eight or ten areas of the country that would be suitable and do all our planning. One must go through due process - I am not saying that the State does not do that - but we need to have shovel-ready sites prepared rather than have companies being dragged through the courts. We welcome investment in rural parts of Ireland that create jobs because they are required. If we could do some forward planning on that, it would be helpful. Otherwise, we will keep going down the same road with the same people. They are nearly driving around the country following projects to keep objecting to everything, which is intolerable, is costing jobs and is affecting rural communities. Everybody cannot live and work in Dublin. We need to make vibrant communities. As the Minister of State is involved in the national planning framework, I hope that when it is published in two or three weeks' time, it is a totally different document than the draft we got a few weeks ago because it was a lame excuse from a Department in the context of trying to achieve regional developments in all parts.

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