Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is shocking that we are discussing a motion to allow the Government to table a set of amendments covering more than 50 pages to a Bill that is to be dealt with later on today. It is mind-boggling when you say it like that. The contempt the Government shows for this House really is shocking.

Yesterday, we saw a Bill rushed through to enable the ratification of a treaty we signed 50 years ago. This treaty regarding outer space was only moved for ratification yesterday. There must be something coming up in that regard if the Government wanted to make sure all the i's were dotted and all the t's crossed to prevent any challenges.

This motion is being moved today without any amendments even being taken. The Government really does not care about democracy. It will railroad these changes through anyway. Some of these amendments have been around since last summer so there was plenty of time to move a Bill but I do not think the Government wants people to see what it is at. That is why these amendments are being pushed now. It is because there will be no scrutiny of them as there physically is not time. The Government will push them through, which shows a shocking disregard for this House, the democratic process and the citizens of this country.

To add insult to injury, the Minister of State arrived in the Chamber without copies of his speech. We have to wait for these to be delivered. We then find out from Deputy Cian O'Callaghan that amendment No. 25 has been withdrawn. I would say the Minister of State knew that because he answered very quickly that it was withdrawn but he was not going to tell the House before this debate. We were having a debate on these amendments but the Minister of State was not going to tell the House that one of them was not going to be put forward. That says a lot about the process and about the Minister of State and his Government's view of it. What is really shocking with regard to this legislation is the way the Minister of State views the whole thing.

Obviously, it is about hiding things. One of the amendments relates to judicial review. I am looking at some of the statistics. In 2020, An Bord Pleanála decided 2,600 cases, of which 83 or 3% of the total number of applications went to review. The Government's proposals will benefit that 3%. It would be very interesting to look at who makes up that 3%. I am sure it includes big-money developers. That is who the Minister of State's Department and Government represent. They are the only people who benefit from this. Some Members spoke about the number of cases that go to judicial review. I am no legal expert but, as far as I know, the courts determine whether legal processes were followed before they allow a judicial review to be taken as these reviews are taken on legal matters. The court therefore recognises that there is a prima faciecase that the legal processes and the law were not properly followed. If An Bord Pleanála and the planning authorities actually followed the law and did what it says, there would not be judicial reviews because they would not be allowed to be taken in the first place. People could apply for them but they would not be allowed to be taken because the law was followed. That would say a lot more.

If the Minister of State wants to make the planning process work properly for people, he should push a system whereby developers are required to obtain consent. There are three parties in the planning process, namely, the developer, the planning authority and the community that has to host the development. If they were all treated equally and with respect, an awful lot more planning applications would go through the process with the consent of the people. That would do an awful lot to streamline the planning process under the Acts. However, it is not in the Minister of State or the Government to do that because they represent private developers and money. That is what they are all about. Unfortunately, that is also what all of this is about. These amendments will be rushed through today and this Bill will be law tomorrow without any scrutiny. That is what the Minister of State wants and what he is going to achieve.

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