Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As has been stated, Sinn Féin will not oppose the Bill. However, we tabled a number of amendments in the Seanad that would have strengthened it. They would have limited the extension for county development plans, as there is no realistic justification for allowing the operation of multiple extensions to happen all the way out to 1 Jan 2024. Joined-up thinking needs joined-up planning and these extensions could create a disconnect with other county development plans and the national planning framework. An extension could also compromise the regional guidelines as well as the spatial and core strategies of development plans.

In my local authority of South Dublin County Council, councillors and officials have just gone through the first part of their county development plan process. It is an arduous process, one that I went through during my time on the council. There was much debate on the plan's core strategies before any sort of consensus was reached. Core strategies are the foundations of, and set out a vision for, the development of the area to which the plan relates. They give spatial expression to the population in addition to providing the economic, social, environmental and cultural aims of the county development plan. They must be grounded in public and political consensus around the plan's strategic framework.

The county development plan covers everything from population growth and the projected amount of land needed to house that growth to employment and economic development, parks and playgrounds, transport, tourism, natural resources, community development, telecommunications, culture and the environment. Everything of note that happens in the county is covered by the county development plan, framed in the context of climate change and ensuring proper planning and sustainable development. Any extension to these plans will not only allow for potential disconnects with other county development plans, but also mean that the core strategies in the plans and settlement strategies could be compromised. This will maintain the status quofor developers and serve to delay the development of new county development plans.

As someone who went through the county development plan process, I commend the councillors of all parties and none the length and breadth of the State who have gone through this process during these challenging times. Meetings that are held remotely are not the ideal setting for difficult planning meetings. As with much of what happened during the pandemic, though, our councillors knuckled down and adapted to the changing situation. I commend South Dublin County Council's Sinn Féin team, in particular my two Dublin Mid-West colleagues, Councillors Derren Ó Brádaigh and William Carey, for their hard work during the process. I appreciate the work that local authority officials have done in trying to put together a county development plan process in the midst of a pandemic. It has been a challenge for them.

Regarding the extension of planning permissions, I recognise that time was lost due to Covid-19 and public health restrictions, but the Bill's carte blancheapproach to the granting of blanket extensions in respect of existing planning permissions causes me concern. It would be better to grant these exemptions on a case-by-case basis. The blanket extensions to existing planning permissions, some of which have been in place for 15 years, could lead to land hoarding or planning hoarding. I would like to see what the Minister will put in place to stop that from happening.

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