Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The integrity of our planning system can be summed up in one word - transparency. This means transparency in our planning laws, consultation, decision-making and appeals process. Pre-planning is a lesser known but very important part of the planning system, especially when it comes to large-scale developments. It is also a very important element of this Bill, which will deal with those developments. We all accept that meaningful collaboration with communities and residents is key to good planning. It is how developers achieve a plan that is a fit for the area as well as helping to tackle the housing crisis.

One of the benefits of the SHD process, and we can all agree there were not very many, was the dedicated website for residents. It worked. If the Minister makes provision for consultation mechanisms, similar to what is being discussed today, he should relook at that dedicated website for SHDs to see how it can be incorporated into this law. If he does that, it is vital that he goes beyond that and requires search engine optimisation so that those websites are easily found. That is the kind of transparency I refer to when I talk about the integrity of our planning system.

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