Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I take the point regarding the Long Title of the Bill, and this is more a legacy of Covid-19 rather than about Covid-19. There were positive things that we could see out of Covid-19, and one of those was that people socialised outside. I know that it has to be the Department of Justice but it is the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage that really should have the input into this. The planning issues are some of the obvious ones. It is not satisfactory that we are at a point where we are still extending a legislative measure, even though I do not think anyone will oppose it, and I will not be opposing it either.

Under planning law, if one has something for five years, it has not been objected to and it was not an unauthorised development and all the rest, one can get permission by default. I worry about the kind of timeline if we do not address this issue and the planning implications of it. There is a lack of uniformity regarding some of the structures. I have talked about this before with regard to this particular legislation and with regard to the guidelines for disabled access and how provisions are made for people with disabilities. They are guidelines as opposed to regulations. I am quite concerned that we are not addressing some of those things. For example, a month ago, the Disability Federation of Ireland promoted a Make Way Day to draw attention to street clutter and hazards, which include barrels, tables and chairs on the street, sandwich boards and things like that. I walked around our own area to see the kind of impact that is having, and one starts to see people with really bad damage to their legs where they have injured themselves on these things. It is important that we give serious consideration to both the street clutter, the damage and the access issue for people with disabilities and to the lack of uniformity and the visual impact of some of the structures. Some commercial entities have used the opportunity to great effect to provide apparatuses that really would not have been permitted and which, in fact, obliterate the street character in respect of the nice signage and all the effort that has gone into improving streets.

There are definitely planning issues in addition and quite a lot of dialogue will have to happen to make sure we get the optimum. That dialogue will not just be in the Department of Justice; it will be with local authorities and with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I accept that there is a licensing issue that cannot be dealt with if we want outdoor dining and socialising and that has certainly been a legacy. I do not think that we can have that without this legislation at the same time, from a justice perspective.

I asked for it the last time, as did everybody else, but I would like us to have a degree of certainty today with regard to this being the last extension. If anything, the points made by Deputy Howlin more or less reinforce the reason that should happen. We cannot continue to have a temporary fix for something that is not the threat that it was. Where there is a really good legacy that we can benefit from, we have to get the legislation right but we have to get it done in a timely way as well. When the Minister of State talks about getting it right, I do not think it is just about licensing laws. It is about the structures and considering access for other people as well and I hope that will be taken on board.

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