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

I too am very concerned by the rushing of this Bill. I fear it is going to adversely affect businesspeople, people who create jobs and people who pay their taxes and even pay for the likes of us in here. They contribute to the State's coffers in a big way. This Bill being rushed through like this will be at the expense of many hard-working people who are trying to do their best, create jobs and provide infrastructure. They will be denied such by the rushing through of this Bill.

I can see this is going to override county councillors and local authorities.

Having been a member of a local authority for many years and having dealt with a number of county development plans, I know the work that councillors and directors of services do. Joined together at every time in our history, they came up with county development plans for their county. They have accrued knowledge and experience from a lifetime working for and with people. They know their areas and the needs of the people. We must consider the people of today who are creating jobs and employing people. Those are the people we must respect and for whom we must try to do our best.

The Government has been in office for two years and it has green all over it. There has been talk of doing this and that for years, green energy and so forth. How is it that the Government could not get the Bill right without the need to throw in so many amendments at the last minute? Why could the Government not put its work together and have it ready? It was unable to get it ready in the first place. We are now past Second Stage. Surely this Bill should have been tied up properly and not rushed through the Chamber at the last minute. The elected Members have been given no proper chance to scrutinise it or get consensus that what we are doing is right. Now we know for sure what we are doing is wrong because it has been expedited so much.

We are giving power to An Bord Pleanála to override local authorities and giving power to the Planning Regulator. Does anyone know if he has ever been to Kerry? Has he ever been to the west? Where is he from? Does he know the areas we are representing? I do not know if the Minister of State knows the planning regulator but I certainly do not. I do not depend on him and I do not depend on An Bord Pleanála.

I too have experience of local young fellows who have got planning permission in sensitive areas. I know of one farm of 365 acres that was in a special area of conservation, SAC. The local authority, in its wisdom, granted the young fellow permission to be near his ageing parents and allowed him to build a house on the 365 acres. That application was challenged by An Taisce and sent to An Bord Pleanála. An inspector came down and agreed with the grant of permission but other members of the board refused it. The man in question is now living 20 miles away from his elderly mother, who is living alone. His father has died and he was the only one who was able to drive. The son is in and out of the place every day but cannot live there with his family because he was denied that right by An Taisce, which is supposedly composed of good people. That is what they did to this poor couple. The same thing has happened in several other instances. I will leave it at that with respect to what An Taisce has done.

This Bill regulates substitute consent procedures.

See this speech in context