Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for this opportunity to speak. First of all, I commend, congratulate and welcome the work that is being done by local authority members, obviously starting off in County Kerry. I appreciate, however, the good work that is done by county councillors in formulating county development plans and local area plans. An lot of the work is unheard of but it is very important work in their localities. Regardless of whatever political breed or party or whatever they are, I do not care about that, I thank them for their work and their efforts.

I want to speak to some of what is contained in this Bill but also what is not contained in it. Section 7 of the Bill regarding extensions, for example, is, of course, welcome. If there are genuine cases because of Covid-19 and Covid-related issues whereby planning needs to be extended, of course, that should be supported, which is why I support the Bill. In doing that, however, there are questions, for example, regarding quarries that have been affected and issues they had because of a need for extensions to their times. Where is the provision in this Bill for them? In saying that, as I always do in matters such as this, I wish to declare that I may be considered to have an interest in this because of family interests with machinery and such.

Material is not in this Bill that should be. I want to talk about An Bord Pleanála, for example. An Bord Pleanála can send out an inspector to look at a development, which could be anything. It could be somewhere housing is badly needed in a built-up area or it could be a one-off house. That inspector, in his or her wisdom, for instance, might write up a positive report. That inspector may be the only person to have looked at the development. That person might then go to a meeting with An Bord Pleanála. I want to dispel this in case people think An Bord Pleanála is a very organised group; it most certainly is not. These are ad hocmeetings, which are held at its members' own convenience, at some time in the evening when their other jobs are finished. They sit down in some gathering where three people might be at the meeting, for instance, the inspector who wrote a positive report and maybe two others, who would never have gone to see the development. They might have only barely scratched or glimpsed the inspector's report. They come along and vote against the development and the person is refused and denied his or her planning.

How many projects has An Bord Pleanála held up in this country over the years? How much hurt and harm has it done? How much longer are we going to stand idly by and watch people with vested interests in trying to stop, hold up and get at people? How long are we going to allow that type of activity to continue? By God, I know one thing; it will have to stop.

As for family members who want to build on family farms, I do not see anything in this Bill about protecting those people. When we speak about changing planning rules and guidelines, we should be enhancing and protecting the rights of people to live in the countryside. Of course, it is important to see our villages being built up and strengthened. I welcome Government policy that enhances and supports this. I welcome the fact that local authorities are promoting and encouraging people. In many cases, however, we do not have sewerage schemes. In places like Kenmare, we need an extension to our scheme and we are allowing no development there until that happens. In Caherdaniel, raw sewage is flowing into the river. The same is true in many other villages. How can we encourage people to live in places like that when we do not have sewerage schemes to take the sewage that will be created by the extra growth?

I thank and compliment the people who did great work back over the years, such as James Connolly of the Irish Rural Dwellers Association and our own James Doyle from Beaufort, who was a backbone of the Irish Rural Dwellers Association. That group was set up to encourage and promote living in rural areas, which is something I would always encourage and try to support.

Where is the attack on the serial objectors, who do nothing good with their lives except to sit at home playing with computers and throwing out their miserable €20 to object to people's hopes, dreams and aspirations? Where are they when it comes? People in County Kerry have died and gone to their graves without seeing their family members build on their family farms, all because of horrible objectors.

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