Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

One of the key areas of contention in the move to strike a proportionate balance in the just transition and decarbonisation process relates to planning. As the Minister of State is aware, the High Court action taken by Friends of the Irish Environment and the appalling delays in issuing planning judgments by An Bord Pleanála have contributed to bringing about chronic levels of uncertainty for many workers and contractors involved in peat harvesting. These workers are not just in Bord na Móna and the ESB; they are also in parts of the horticultural sector. The just transition commissioner, Mr. Kieran Mulvey, notes that, in effect, the decision terminated the usage of peat for the generation of electricity and had the domino effect of effectively closing down the harvesting of bogs over a wide area of several midland counties, including parts of Roscommon and east Galway.

I have already called for the next Government to commit to introducing legislation that would exempt peat operators from requiring planning permission when extracting peat from sites in excess of 30 ha. Bord na Móna has also made it very clear that urgent legislative changes are required if we are to avoid an annual repetition of the tiresome and delaying processes of the kind that workers and the company have just been through with An Bord Pleanála, which in my mind is a law unto itself.

The Minister of State is aware that such exemptions in the form of statutory instruments were put in place by him and the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment in January 2019, before they were struck down by the courts. I still think that is something that needs to be revisited and reintroduced in much stronger terms. Mr. Mulvey also noted in the first report recently that if the just transition funds or projects for the region are to be used to their maximum value and to achieve the best medium and long-term effects, a whole-of-region approach will be necessary between the local authorities, Departments and State agencies. For this to happen, he says, a greater degree of planning, co-ordination and co-operation is necessary. This will involve key tourism infrastructure, transport, remote working hubs, business and innovation centres and cross-county planning. Perhaps the Minister of State could provide me with an update on how this whole-of-region and cross-county planning is progressing within his Department.

I am deeply concerned by the view put forward by Friends of the Irish Environment when they took the High Court challenge in 2019. They clearly stated that stopping all peat extraction is a no-brainer, with absolutely no thought to communities, livelihoods or anything else. This clearly conveys the worrying mindset that is at play here. Does the Minister of State see this becoming a reality? Every attempt to take even a minimal amount of peat would end up requiring planning permission.

Going back to the planning difficulties, Growing Media Ireland, GMI, has been in contact with me several times on this issue. It has submitted what it sees as a legal and fair resolution to the challenges. According to GMI, almost all agree that planning Acts have never worked well for recurring work like peat harvesting, quarrying or dredging, maintenance of flood relief drains and so on. In fact, there appears to be a legal consensus that licensing is logically a better fit than planning control. Would the Minister of State accept this? Would he also accept that the 18-month exemption proposed in the regulations that were quashed last year should be removed so as to reduce delay in the processing time required to assess licence applications?

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