Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)

Like everybody else in this House, I am slightly baffled that we are amending something that has not been enacted as of yet. While I rise to support the Bill and while I believe the Government is taking some steps, it is certainly not taking the steps that need to be taken in this House when it comes to planning. Everybody in this House, left, right and centre, has pointed out the inadequacy of our planning laws. For instance, people talked about community objections, and I accept them, but I do not accept a guy in Kerry objecting to a wall in Donegal. I do not accept somebody in Longford having an interest in a Velux window being installed in Waterford and complaining about it. Our planning laws are not fit for purpose. We are one of only two countries in the European Union where somebody with no local investment or local interest can object to a planning permission. That has to be addressed and it has to happen yesterday.

Day in, day out we are hearing from Members on all sides of the House about the problems with Irish Water. I am in touch with somebody who has been waiting for the past eight weeks for a SoDA report for a site to go ahead with 80 units in Cork city. The pumping station is right next door. He cannot even enter a planning application without the SoDA report from Irish Water. Irish Water does not even have the decency to reply to my emails, his emails or his solicitor's emails. That is what is happening. Those are the delays.

Members have referred to dezoning of lands and planning permissions. I saw that in my own constituency in Blarney where vast acres of land were dezoned, removing their value overnight. What did Cork City Council come along and do under the direction of the Department? It was told to start zoning the land in the docklands because we had to build 5,000 houses there. Cork City Council agreed and applied for planning. The Taoiseach came out with full fanfare telling everyone he was going to commit over €600 million to the Cork docklands, we were going to develop the docklands and have them full of housing and full of people. What happened? An Bord Pleanála went into the Taoiseach's constituency and knocked 800 units on the head because there was no school provision by the Government. Sorry about that but there will be nothing built in the docklands.

The Government is now coming along with ideas about apartments. Deputies have mentioned 50,000 apartments in Dublin alone that have not been built because the four pillar banks are not lending to anyone. Developers are depending on shadow banks. If you go to get a loan from the likes of Pepper Finance, by Jesus almighty, they are like the same guys who were in the temple when Christ had to throw them out. That is the type of people Pepper Finance are. People cannot do business with them. They are screwing any developer and any small builder in the country. It is unacceptable.

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