Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

For the past five minutes, I have listened to a Deputy blacken the names of highly respected public officials who have given great service to the State. I robustly defend their actions. I know how hard they work and how well they are doing in their roles. In his annual report, the Planning Regulator's detailed explanation of planning decisions taken throughout the country is exemplary. Safeguards are built into the system through the primacy of the Oireachtas. We hold the Planning Regulator to account with the Minister deciding whether to pursue a direction or recommendation issued to him. In any case we must take all the factors into consideration.

The county development plan process is working well. In general, local authorities are passing all their county development plans and meeting their obligations on them. Under the national planning framework, there is significant capacity for housing delivery across the 31 local authorities. Nine local authorities need to increase their housing delivery by 100% while another 13 need to increase by 250%. There is significant capacity for us to build on the opportunity provided by the Covid-19 crisis. At one stage we had a system that provided enough zoned land to cater for an additional 10 million people but without correct infrastructure to underpin that development. Through the plan-led system the Oireachtas has put in place, the Office of the Planning Regulator is a guardian into ensure we never go back to that day again and that the right development takes place in the right place. I am proud of the development of the OPR and the role of my Department in ensuring that. Nothing backs up assertion like the fact of 27,000 planning applications approved every year.

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