Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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93. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he is satisfied with the current allocation of resources and staffing levels in planning departments at a local authority level; if his attention has been drawn to the extra demands that will be put on these departments with regard to the requirements under the large scale residential development Bill, the Maritime Area Planning Bill and the monitoring and reporting proposals in the draft development plan guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46310/21]

Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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I want to ask the Minister of State about the current level of resources and staffing at local authority level in planning services, especially in light of the extra pressures that will be put on them by the planning and development (amendment) (LSRD) Bill, the Maritime Area Planning Bill and the new draft development plan guidelines, which call for extra monitoring and measuring on development plans. This is a good thing but I simply want to ensure we have good staff resources to carry out all those extra duties.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Matthews. I am anxious to ensure that the planning authorities are appropriately resourced to meet the demands of Housing for All and the national development plan, NDP. I recognise that changing work demands are being placed on local authorities from the strong terrestrial and marine planning legislation and the monitoring required from development plans.

For that reason, Housing for All refers to the need in action 24.1 to ensure there is sufficient resourcing to meet the scale and ambition in the plan. In particular, reference is made to the need for planning resources to deliver an average of 33,000 units per annum as well as the skills and resources necessary to deliver on urban regeneration and the Town Centre First policy, which relate to both planning and economic departments within local authorities.

This requirement was highlighted at a recent meeting with chief executives of local authorities. I am committed to ensuring that the resourcing is made available through the workforce planning process. The issue goes beyond the funding of posts. It also addresses the need to deal with the building of new skills and increasing digitalisation of the planning service. We received a submission from the Irish Planning Institute on this wider skills and resourcing issue and expect that this will be an important issue to be considered in the context of the planning advisory forum, which I chair and which I expect will have its first meeting in October.

Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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I put the question in the context of the huge amount of work that is done at local authority level, of which the Minister of State will be aware. Our planning services are very professional and offer very professional services to everybody who engages with them, whether that is through the development plan process or other areas.

Development plans are getting more and more complex and we need to incorporate a lot of environmental law and climate law. It has become a much more complex process. The consent process is becoming more complex for them as well, especially with the LSRD Bill. Whereas An Bord Pleanála would have led it under the strategic housing development process, it will now fall to local authorities to carry out those pre-planning consultations. We recently had a committee session on that issue, during which we heard concerns about the resources available to local authorities and the pressures they will be put under to meet the tight timelines in the LSRD Bill. I am, therefore, concerned about that, as well as the need to ensure that enforcement, which has always been the weakest part of planning, is well resourced.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I concur with the Deputy. It is a very important to ensure that we maximise our resources and skill set within the local authority sector. One thing I see as I go around the 31 local authority networks is how important it is to have the right skills in the right places.

In connection with the Deputy's issues on bringing the two-stage process back to the local authorities on the ground and ensuring that decisions are made locally, we will obviously consult with the local authority network to ensure the resources are there to manage that.

I also mention the huge issue of digitalisation of our planning system, which is to be finalised and finished by quarter 2 of 2022, with Tipperary County Council and Galway County Council in quarter 4 of this year. That will be a single process for submissions, applications, fee structure and appeals, which will obviously give strength to and simplify the planning process. It is very important to bring the citizen right to the heart of planning in his or her community. These measures will assist in doing that, and, obviously, the marine Bill will ensure, through the maritime area regulatory authority, MARA, a very strong and robust regulatory approach.

Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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It is reassuring to hear that the e-planning system is progressing so well. That will bring many efficiencies to the entire planning system and cut down on those masses of paperwork that are involved in a planning application. That is, therefore, a positive move.

I agree with the Minister of State about the range of services that are required now in planning. I talk about things like county architects and biodiversity officers. We see in active travel how that will also tie into our Town Centre First policies. The compulsory purchase order scheme we are going to bring into Housing for All will put those continued pressures on our local authorities. It is where we see a lot of the action and interaction between communities arising from policy we create here. I am glad to hear the Minister of State has met the chief executives and is aware of and working on those resource issues.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Deputy Matthews makes a fair point. We also need to take into account, and we all accept the necessity of, the national broadband plan, NBP, roll-out. National Broadband Ireland, NBI, has stated that if this is to be accelerated, it will have an absolute requirement for resource allocation as regards planning permissions and road opening licences, particularly. NBI is referring to planners and engineers and said that it will need that sort of resource to be guaranteed. That is even with the streamlining that has occurred with the section 254 guidelines.

We also need to take into account that sometimes we have the local development plan, the tail-end of which we have going on in County Louth at the minute, and we have an element of separation between the Office of the Planning Regulator, OPR, the local authority planners and even the officials at Department level. That needs to be streamlined. We have to finally have a real conversation on what we can provide for rural communities to provide sustainable communities and housing for those who live in those areas.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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In response to Deputy Matthews, absolutely; it is so important to see the value of the skill set of those people who are delivering services to the local authority. I recently visited Tipperary County Council, where the county architect, Mr. Liam Ryan, took me through a number of developments. I could see first-hand his input and imprint and how he changed developments to make them much more sustainable and a lot more suitable for the citizens in the area. It is absolutely important. We lost many skills from our local authorities through the post-recessionary period. We really have to drive those back. The Deputy also referenced the planning system. The Local Government Management Agency is overseeing that process.

As for our Towns Centre First initiative, there will be proposals before Cabinet in November and that is progressing well.

We are updating the rural planning guidelines and we have to have a robust mechanism to ensure that through our Town Centres First initiative, there will be strong options for people to reside in towns and villages throughout the country. The Deputy acknowledged and understands the demand for rural housing on the other side of the coin.