Dáil debates

Wednesday, 14 December 2022

Planning and Development and Foreshore (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage

 

2:20 pm

Photo of Richard O'DonoghueRichard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

A total of 35,000 homes are being held up in the planning system due to delays in An Bord Pleanála. There is total disarray in An Bord Pleanála. Only four people are on the board and it seems they are unable to make decisions regarding strategic housing developments, SHDs.

I have concerns about planning delays. An Bord Pleanála should have a high-level screening programme before objections get to the inspector to be judged by the board. However, I also have concerns about this Bill and the way it has been rushed through. Number one, it has not been debated properly.

I understand what the Minister is trying to do and what he is trying to do in building houses. The Land Development Agency, LDA, was set up for city building, not for rural building. That is what it was set up for because you are talking about projects within 15 minutes of the city from a transport network point, which wipes out two thirds of my county.

We spoke last night at length about infrastructure in our areas that would allow us to build houses. Eli Lilly is coming to Limerick with a first investment of €500 million and a total investment of €1.3 billion. What is the biggest concern in the area? It is housing. We have planning permissions that are running out because they involved projects that did not finish. The banks have told these developers that they want two years left in respect of planning permissions and there is only a year and two months, which means they cannot get the funding. The planning authority then tells these developers the projects must be substantially completed by the time planning permission runs out to get retention of the existing planning permission. On the one hand, banks are telling these developers they need two more years of planning permission while on the other, the planning authority is saying the planning permission is running out. The Minister has allowed everything else from Covid to be extended but what about planning permission so that people who want to start these houses but are short eight months on planning permission can do so? I am talking about 300 houses in an area that would help us with regard to businesses like Eli Lilly and help us with transport networks. The infrastructure is there but now planning laws are stopping it because the financial side will not help.

I said last night that we have been looking for more than 30 years for infrastructure in County Limerick so we can build houses, be sustainable, ensure businesses in the local area are sustainable and put a transport network in place. Planning permission will not happen unless we have infrastructure, and infrastructure in towns and rural areas outside the 15-minute radius for which the LDA has been set up wipes out two thirds of Limerick.

We do get serial objections in our rural areas. Somebody from Dublin can object to somebody in Limerick building a one-off house and delay it. Around 90% of those houses were failing due to somebody who had nothing to do with the area submitting an objection. We need to tackle this as well. I would have preferred more debate on this and I would not like to see the Minister of the day have full control over this.

I have reservations about this. Something needs to be done with An Bord Pleanála. We must ensure that building can go forward.

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