Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I am very pleased to bring the Planning and Development and Foreshore (Amendment) Bill to Second Stage in the Dáil. I will go through this much-needed legislation in a minute. However, I first wish to deal with some confusion that may exist. The Planning and Development and Foreshore (Amendment) Bill is entirely separate from the consolidated planning Bill that I brought to Cabinet yesterday. That is very important legislation which has been worked through with the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage on a module basis as well, but the consolidated planning Bill is once-in-a-generation legislation. It is the culmination of 15 months' work by the Attorney General and a team of legal planning experts. It will be published early in the new year. I expect it to be published by around 9 January. It will then go through pre-legislative scrutiny and through both Houses of the Oireachtas. I assure Deputies that all views will be taken on board. We can, we must and we will get that legislation right. There is no question of the consolidated planning Bill being rushed through in any shape or form. That just will not happen.

I thank the Dáil for facilitating this important and urgent legislation. The urgency of the issues at hand to address the housing crisis require immediate legislative action and I appreciate both Houses assisting in achieving that. I will briefly set out the background and why such swift actions are required.

This Bill was part of the An Bord Pleanála reform agenda agreed by Cabinet on 4 October. I indicated to Opposition parties on 22 November that I intended to introduce additional measures in the Bill to expedite supply. At its meeting on 7 December, the Government approved an amendment to this Bill relating to housing delivery which I will discuss in detail on Committee Stage later today. I have made officials available for briefings as required on all aspects of the Bill, including a briefing which was arranged for Deputies last Monday, 12 December.

In particular I emphasise two points on which we need to move forward quickly and which require the urgent approach being taken with this legislation. First is the immediate need to put in place an interim chairperson for An Bord Pleanála to help unlock the planning delays that are impacting our housing system. Overhauling and reforming An Bord Pleanála to rebuild and restore public trust after a turbulent period and to ensure it can play an efficient and effective role at the apex of our planning system cannot be delayed.

Second is the pressing need to ramp up supply. The impact of inflation, higher interest rates and supply chain issues means we need to take further steps to boost housing delivery. In this light I am bringing forward accelerated measures to support local authority social and affordable housing delivery through the planning system and building modern methods of construction homes with a very specific focus on that. I know all Deputies understand the urgent need to prioritise tackling our housing crisis through all means available. This proposed amendment, which received Cabinet approval on 7 December, reflects that.

I will now go through the broad policies underpinning the Bill. Since its establishment in 1977, An Bord Pleanála has become an integral part of our planning system, providing an independent, impartial and objective appeals process in addition to many other functions. The provisions relating to the board of An Bord Pleanála that are contained in this Bill are necessary to ensure the full functioning of the board to allow it to process its significant workload efficiently.

While the main legislative provisions relating to An Bord Pleanála are being examined in a new consolidated planning Bill, which I mentioned at the beginning of my remarks, this Bill deals with certain initial matters requiring immediate action on foot of phase 1 of the action plan for An Bord Pleanála, which was carried out by the Office of the Planning Regulator, and other matters relating to addressing board vacancies and the board's caseload in light of its new marine functions. They include providing for the appointment of a chairperson of An Bord Pleanála for an interim period while a permanent chairperson is recruited through open competition; increasing the limit on the overall number of ordinary members of the board to ensure the increasing caseload can be managed and the appropriate quorums and suitable allocation of case files can be assured; expanding the provision to appoint temporary ordinary board members to allow for the appointment of serving or former civil servants, public servants or employees of the board for a term of up to one year; providing for a suitable, independent, objective and transparent procedure by which recommendations may be made to the Minister on the recruitment and appointment of ordinary members of the board through an open competitive process, replacing the archaic list system and nomination system that has existed since the board's establishment; clarifying and streamlining the investigative powers of the chairperson under section 110; and removing the option for a two-member board quorum so that the minimum quorum will be at least three. As Deputies will know, I instructed the board to cease that and it has ceased it, but this is to underpin it in legislation.

The Bill enables the establishment of a new appointments process for board members of An Bord Pleanála through open competition, where any member of the public may apply if that person believes he or she has the relevant experience or qualifications to serve on the board. This process will replace the outdated panel process with a new structure to replenish the board into the future. The reform of the process to appoint board members to An Bord Pleanála is a critical step to ensure impartiality and transparency in An Bord Pleanála as an independent planning body, which is foundational to the success of the planning system in Ireland.

I am also bringing forward an amendment today on Committee Stage to provide for virtual meetings of the board. This includes meetings for the purpose of making any decision on any appeal, referral or application. The provision to hold virtual meetings is in line with similar statutory initiatives such as the holding of virtual AGMs under the Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Covid- 19) Act 2020, which has recently been extended to December 2023. This is an efficiency measure to facilitate the board in processing its caseload.

Finally, in relation to An Bord Pleanála I wish to update the House that the Government yesterday approved a new consolidated planning and development Bill, which will be referred to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage for consideration in the new year. The Bill will implement one of the key measures in the action plan for An Bord Pleanála, agreed by Government on 4 October, which is to move to a new organisational structure for An Bord Pleanála, to separate the decision-making and the corporate and organisational roles.

An Bord Pleanála will be re-named as An Coimisiún Pleanála to bring greater clarity to the understanding of these distinct roles. The new Bill contains a number of provisions reflecting the new organisational structure and will clearly outline the role of the planning commissioners, who will be responsible for all decision-making regarding consents and applications made to it. There will be a chief planning commissioner and up to 14 planning commissioners. These will be full-time posts and will replace the current chairperson and board member roles.

The governing body, which will be responsible for the governance and organisation of the body, will comprise a chief executive, up to two additional ex-officiomembers and up to four non-executive members.

I will now move on to the housing-related amendment to the Planning and Development and Foreshore (Amendment) Bill 2022. I wish to confirm that Government amendments will be tabled on Dáil Committee Stage to provide defined and time-bound circumstances for the accelerated delivery of social and affordable housing on local authority or other State-owned land which is zoned for housing.

In essence, the proposed amendments will seek to disapply temporarily the Part 8 planning approval process for local authority-owned development proposals, as provided for in section 179 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, in respect of social, affordable and cost rental housing developments only, in strictly defined circumstances where the land is owned by the local authority or another State body; the land is zoned for residential development; the proposed development does not materially contravene the development plan or a local area plan for the area; the proposed development is in accordance with the relevant local authority' s housing strategy; the land is serviced or will be serviced with the necessary supporting infrastructure or facilities within the timeframe of the development; and the proposed development is not required to undergo environmental impact assessment, where it is not required already to undergo such an assessment under the environmental impact assessment, EIA, directive, or appropriate assessment, AA, under the habitats directive. There is no question, therefore, of setting aside the EIAs or AAs. The chief executive will also be providing plans and particulars of the proposed development to the elected members of the local authority to enable consultation on the proposals, as well as the local authority giving public notice and enabling public inspection of the proposals in a prescribed manner. Finally, the development works are to be commenced by no later than 31 December 2024. It will be our desire that many of these developments will commence in 2023.

This measure is time-bound, is important, is urgent, it needs to be done and I request Deputies and party support for that amendment and, indeed, for this urgent legislation which moves us towards the reform of an Bord Pleanála.

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