James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

On the question of smaller extensions, etc., we are working on a very extensive suite of planning exemptions. I very much recognise that people should have more power to deliver and work on their own local property without having to seek planning permission. That is why we are introducing those exemptions. It is very much not a case of passing the parcel. The reality is that county development plans are decided at a local level. We must be very careful how we proceed in terms of any national planning statement. It cannot be one size fits all. Local authorities and local councillors know what is best for their local areas.

I very much believe in local government, which is why I set up the local government task force to give more power back to local councillors. Any national planning statement, when it is announced, cannot and will not take a one-size-fits-all approach. What is good for Cork East would be very different from what is good for north Wicklow and different again from what works for Donegal. No matter what the planning statement says, there will always be a significant amount of power left to the local authority to decide what to do with the land. There is no reason for any local authority to be waiting for a national planning statement. The law, as it is, says it is up to local authorities to decide what to do with their land in their own county areas under their own county development plans. That is their local power.

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