Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I put the question in the context of the huge amount of work that is done at local authority level, of which the Minister of State will be aware. Our planning services are very professional and offer very professional services to everybody who engages with them, whether that is through the development plan process or other areas.

Development plans are getting more and more complex and we need to incorporate a lot of environmental law and climate law. It has become a much more complex process. The consent process is becoming more complex for them as well, especially with the LSRD Bill. Whereas An Bord Pleanála would have led it under the strategic housing development process, it will now fall to local authorities to carry out those pre-planning consultations. We recently had a committee session on that issue, during which we heard concerns about the resources available to local authorities and the pressures they will be put under to meet the tight timelines in the LSRD Bill. I am, therefore, concerned about that, as well as the need to ensure that enforcement, which has always been the weakest part of planning, is well resourced.

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