Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy rightly says, the Planning and Development Bill will voted upon in the Dáil tonight. This is after 170 hours of debate. The Bill is hugely significant and has been under work for years. It is vital in terms of streamlining our planning process. I think everybody will accept that. As the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has said, and I agree with him, the Bill will be the cornerstone of Irish planning for the coming decades. It represents the most comprehensive review of planning since the current Act was enacted in 2000. It contains important reforms to the planning system, including the introduction of mandatory timelines, a reorganisation of An Bord Pleanála, greater alignment of all tiers of planning and improvements to the judicial review process. It will bring consistency, clarity and transparency to the planning process. I support it and acknowledge the significant work of the Minister and his team and what they have done to get this Bill to this point.

Regarding LNG terminals, the purpose of the Planning and Development Act is to set the legislative framework to enable the most appropriate means of assessment of all forms of development. The LNG provision referred to largely replicates current provision in the Planning and Development Act 2000. Irrespective of Government policy, any party may propose such a facility at any time and this must be assessed if submitted. Identification of a significant and specialist development type such as an LNG terminal and-or storage facility for strategic infrastructure scale assessment does not automatically imply acceptance or prioritisation. In the same manner as gas installations are identified under annexe 1 of the Aarhus Convention, it would an omission for the planning legislative code simply to ignore this form of development. It is also noted that the November 2023 energy security package recommends that consideration be given to State ownership of a temporary facility.

The Bill represents the most comprehensive review of planning since the current Act was enacted in 2000 and contains important reforms to the planning system, including the introduction of mandatory timelines, a reorganisation of An Bord Pleanála, greater alignment of all tiers of planning and improvements to the judicial review process. The review and reform of planning legislation is a key action of Housing for All. It was underpinned by engagement led by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. This included the planning advisory forum, which played a very important role in contributing to the policy provisions outlined in the Bill.

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