Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to get the opportunity to speak on this Bill. As has been previously said by some of my Sinn Féin colleagues, we want to see a planning system which meets the social, economic and environmental needs of society. Public participation is key to this but it is very important that this be meaningful participation. I say that in particular on behalf of rural communities which, I would say, feel even more and more isolated from decisions taken over the past number of years.

People often feel frustrated when they hear there is going to be a consultation process. They engage in that consultation process in good faith and then it feels like nothing they have said is taken on board. That is why there is sometimes considerable scepticism when some of these decisions being made. People are told there is local consultation but they often feel it is not adequate or that what they have been saying has not been taken on board. If we are going to say that we want public participation, which we in Sinn Féin would like to see happen, it is important that we listen to people and take on board their views, particularly those of communities. Every area will be different. It is important that the views of rural areas are seen in that context.

Another point I want to touch on is the delays. Some speakers have spoken about this already. People are entitled to make objections and everything else, but there are often significant delays in applications. We see that in rural areas too. I do not know if it is a staffing issue or what the difficulty is, but there can be significant delays in getting a decision communicated in the first place. If that then has to go to An Bord Pleanála, it slows down the whole process again. In many cases, they are genuine cases. We must have that process but it needs to move more efficiently and swiftly.

It was said that the housing committee made approximately 140 recommendations in its report. I am not on that committee but I chair a committee and know the level of work that goes into pre-legislative scrutiny, committee reports and the various meetings the committee has. When a committee reaches consensus on a certain number of recommendations, it is important that they are looked at. I know there are other Stages of this Bill to go through. I am hopeful that those kinds of recommendations will be taken on board because it is at the pre-legislative stage that the committees really delve into issues. Those reports should be looked at in much more detail. My time is up, so I will leave it at that.

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