Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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I want to raise a very important issue for people in the greater Blanchardstown area, and Dublin West in general, which is the application and granting of planning permission for parking charges and barriers in Blanchardstown town centre. This is a proposal to fleece the community in a cost-of-living crisis and to fleece people who work in the centre. It will drive online shopping, job losses and shop closures, and we have already had plenty of them. It will put a barrier, literally, to community facilities in the town centre. These include Fingal County Council's own offices, a library, Draíocht theatre, medical facilities, a post office and a credit union. Obviously, it is a social hub for people in the area.

The owner of this centre is a vulture fund. It just swooped in and bought the centre off another vulture fund. It is no longer in the hands of retail management. This is a regressive charge. Everyone will pay the same no matter what their income level is. It is also Orwellian, because the owners are saying it is about mobility enhancement and improving access to the town centre.

There is no problem accessing the town centre. We access it every day of the week. Putting in barriers will slow traffic, cause traffic congestion, gridlock, more pollution and result in overflow parking in the neighbouring estates, which happens at peak times, at Christmas and so on. The most despicable aspect of this is that Fingal County Council has given planning permission and worked hand-in-glove with the vulture fund, Strategic Value Partners. The previous one was Goldman Sachs. It is trying to use national, Government transport guidelines to get this through. It bought a site and now it wants to milk it for profit. It has no connection to the community that fought for this centre. I marched to get that town centre built, as did many other people in the area, and to make sure it had community facilities in it.

What has this got to do with the national Government? It has a lot to do with it. It is being cited that this fits in with the national strategy of getting people out of cars and getting them using public transport. We do not have public transport in Dublin West. We do not have a Luas or a metro. We are completely reliant on cars and buses. This is one of the biggest and fastest-growing areas in the country, with 100,000 people. There are no new bus routes. A reply to a parliamentary question posed by a Government Deputy in June, and not to me, stated that since 2020, €1.6 million has been invested in Dublin West in bus enhancements. In 2020, it was €1.25 million. In 2022, it was €97. In 2023, it was nothing. In 2024, €407,000 was the rest. BusConnects, therefore, is a pipe dream. It has not even started. Is the Government seriously going to suggest that people should be able to get out of their cars and onto the creaking bus system? It is forcing people out of cars and onto a public transport system that does not exist. One area, Tyrrelstown, has one of these Go-Ahead ghost buses that frequently does not show. We all know that is what they are. This is the only access for people to the town centre. Are people seriously meant to go in, do their shopping and carry bag loads of shopping onto a bus? The Government should be clamping down on this. There should be no parking charges to access community facilities and vital shopping facilities.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy very much for raising this matter. I will give her the reply that I have been given, but, basically, my understanding is that in the context of the role of the Minister, this is a planning issue. I believe there is planning going on at the moment. I do not know the exact detail. While there is a planning application in the system, the role of the Minister is primarily to provide a policy and legislative framework under which the planning authorities, An Coimisiún Pleanála and the Office of the Planning Regulator, OPR, perform their statutory planning functions.

I understand there is a live planning case and therefore, as provided under section 30 of the Act of 2000, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage shall not exercise any power or control in relation to any particular case with which a planning authority or An Coimisiún Pleanála is or may be concerned. This means that the Minister is explicitly prevented from interfering in such cases, which is of utmost importance to maintain the independence of the planning authority or the commission. Therefore, it would be inappropriate to comment on any individual case that may be subject to appeal or judicial review. All development proposals require planning permission unless they are specifically exempted under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, or the supplementary Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended.

Where any person is unsure if planning permission is required, under section 5 of the 2000 Act they may seek a declaration from the relevant planning authority as to whether any particular case is or is not a development, or is or is not exempted development, within the meaning of the 2000 Act. When a person submits a planning application, irrespective of whether the proposed development is located in an urban or rural area, the relevant planning authority in making its decision shall have regard to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area. It is a matter for the relevant planning authority to consider each application on a case-by-case basis and to decide whether to grant the permission, subject to or without conditions, or to refuse permission. Where an individual who has participated in the planning process, or is directly affected by a planning decision of a planning authority, they may lodge an appeal to the commission in accordance with section 37 of the 2000 Act. Furthermore, any person who has participated in the appeals process, or shows they have sufficient interest, may seek a judicial review.

Public participation is a long established and key element in the substantive decision-making process under the planning Acts. It is open to any person to make a submission or observation. In addition, a person who made a submission or observation on a planning application that a planning authority has decided to grant or refuse may subsequently appeal this decision to An Coimisiún Pleanála or may make a further submission in relation to an appeal of that decision.

I do not know the exact detail of this case, but I understand there is a planning process going on. While that planning process is going on, the Minister cannot interfere in it. It has to go through its course. If that is the correct position, I will accept the Deputy's response.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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I am just wondering why I stayed until 12.15 a.m. to hear that explanation of what a planning application is. I do understand that the Minister of State has to be careful. I do get that. I thought we might be able to have a general discussion about whether people should pay car parking charges to access community and shopping facilities. What does the Minister of State think? Does he think this is right? Does he think it is good to use the guise that it is all being done for the environment? Does he seriously think that a vulture fund that bought this centre cares about the environment? It is there to make a profit, to get the rents and now, it seems, to generate car parking charges.

With regard to Liffey Valley centre, there is kind of an element here of, "Sure, all the other areas have them". There was a battle in Liffey Valley and a campaign. The workers there, though, are paying €2.50 daily. If they park their car there five days a week, that is €600 a year. They have to earn €800 or €1,000 to have €600 cash in their hands. That is well over a week’s wages for people.

I also want to raise a point about social isolation. Many older people and disabled people use Blanchardstown centre to meet their friends. We are cutting across that. People will now be wary about doing that and we are adding to the epidemic of mental health issues and loneliness that exists. Does the Minister of State know we have these drones? I am sure he does know about it because we have raised this issue here. We will all be sitting at home ordering our coffee by drone rather than actually going out and meeting friends.

We will appeal this decision to An Coimisiún Pleanála but we know it is a David-and-Goliath battle. We are up against a vulture fund with massive resources. There was a traffic survey with 115 pages. How are ordinary residents to compete with this? I am absolutely disgusted with Fingal County Council. It is just ignoring the community and facilitating big corporations. On 6 December, we will march into that town centre. We will disrupt its custom that day to send a message to the company that it will not get away with this lying down and that people have a stake in this town centre. We have nitrates derogations and data centres using our water, so please do not pretend this is about the environment.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I cannot comment on the particular situation. Now that I understand what has happened, planning permission has been given for this and it is still in the planning process. I cannot comment on that-----

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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Yes, but on a general discussion.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I have it in my own constituency with wind farms. These wind farms are being imposed on communities in their own backyards. They are very imposing. Again, we do not know who owns them. Investors own them. Communities are preparing submissions to go into the local authority to make their cases. They are meeting in community halls to see how they will do this when they should be at home enjoying themselves with their families. That is the context of the overall issue.

More public transport is definitely needed. The questions I have been answering, including from the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, in the past couple of weeks highlight that the public transport systems we have are not fulfilling the function they are supposed to be doing.

We had it from another Deputy in Cork here tonight. We have deficiencies in the system. That is a different conversation from getting public transport up and running, but I cannot comment on a live planning application. As the Deputy said, it will be appealed it or whatever, but I do not know. I cannot comment on that particular thing and the question is about parking charges. I wondered what the background was to it but now I understand it. I sympathise with the community and I presume that justice will prevail.