Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Rural Independent Group for tabling this very important motion. At the heart of it are some matters we need to address, of which planning is the most fundamental. Planning controversies have dogged the political system for as long as I can remember. The Labour Party is interested, and we had a long discussion on this at our parliamentary party meeting yesterday, in the log cabin suggestion, which is one that is worthy of investigation.

I will say this much about the planning system in Ireland; I remind Deputies that there was a period in Ireland where developers were able to buy the votes of councillors to rezone land. In my constituency and throughout rural Ireland, there are developments that were built by cowboy builders that are crumbling.

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