Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I tabled amendment No. 61 in my own name and in the names of members of the Regional Group. It introduces a statutory provision that appeals must be dealt with within 60 days. The whole objective of this legislation is to address the backlog in respect of appeals. It is pointless to bring forward legislation to address a backlog if we do not set a specific target for how long it will take to process applications, such as we see with regard to An Bord Pleanála and the local authorities.

That is the case with An Bord Pleanála and the local authorities with regard to how long it takes for an application to be processed.

The reality is that justice delayed is justice denied. It is the case that the focus of the debate up to now, rightly, has been on the chaos this is causing within the industry. The Minister of State should look at it from the other side as well. What about a homeowner who has a plantation going up beside the home? It takes years for a decision within the licensing process and then further time, a further two years, for an appeal to be decided. That means the homeowner is left in limbo for four or five years before knowing what will happen beside the home. No individual should be left in that situation.

Our amendment is simple and straightforward. We are looking to have a clear target set so that every appeal would be dealt with within 60 days.

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