Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 74:

In page 47, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following:“(b) by inserting the following new paragraph after paragraph (i):

“(ia) requiring planning authorities to ensure that any interventions made by elected members in respect of specific planning applications are noted on the planning application file and that the file is made available for public inspection on the planning authority’s website;”,”.

This amendment seeks to implement key recommendations of transparency in relation to the Mahon tribunal. One of the key recommendations was that when elected members make representations on a planning file, it would be noted. We want to put it on a statutory footing though it is happening in a number of local authorities at the moment where, if a person makes a representation, it is noted on the website. On some occasions it is noted in the file but there is no clarity around these matters. In some local authorities, a person makes a representation digitally but when a member of the public opens up the actual file, the record is not there. It would bring clarity to the process and is what the Mahon tribunal was looking for.

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