Results 1,661-1,680 of 6,908 for speaker:Cian O'Callaghan

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: On the point about the wording as to why an applicant would consent to an extension, my read of what the Minister of State has said is that it could be in the applicant's interest to consent to an extension because it could result in a decision that would be more favourable to the applicant. If the planning authority asks if the applicant will consent to an extension and the applicant feels...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: I have a follow up-question to that. From what I see in my local area, the larger, more complex applications almost always get additional information requests from the planning authority. Maybe sometimes there is an outright refusal or something, but nearly always there are additional information requests on the larger, more complex planning applications. There is a lot more work in them...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: Could this be used in addition to additional information for quite complex-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: The Minister of State said the small extension of time is to make a decision and it is not to look for further information. When the local authority or planning authority makes a decision, it is to grant, refuse or look for further information. That is its decision.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: That is the standard. While it might not be the intention of the Minister of State to use this to have an additional four weeks, there is nothing in the legislation to stop an authority getting an extra four weeks and then the decision it could make at the end of 12 weeks since the application was made would be to seek further information.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: The legislation states it is the final decision so it cannot make a further decision.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: There is certainly a view that sometimes planning authorities ask for further information because they are not ready to make a decision but that is not being addressed in this.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: I have no issue with the OPR doing a summary. It should do a summary. That is good practice. I have no issue with the summary going to the Minister and the Minister reading the summary. All of that is fine. The issue is the legislation will not require the Minister to consider the submissions made, if these amendments go through. It only obliges the Minister to consider the summary...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: The concern I have still stands.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: Most of the power in this process from the national planning statements being issued is with the Minister. Most of the power in this process lies with the Minister or the OPR. There is very little for the Oireachtas or the regional assemblies in it; most of the power lies elsewhere. The Minister of State has explained very well how diligently and thoroughly he goes through these.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: No.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: We all have seen cases over the years of very poor planning and poor planning outcomes when there has been competition between local authorities. I will not name those local authorities, although perhaps I should do so. There are local authorities that have given planning permission right on the border of the jurisdiction of their neighbouring local authority in ways that undermine the...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: First, with regard to section 40(7)(b), where it states: "The Minister may require two or more planning authorities to coordinate the development plans ...", the difficulty with that is that the Minister may not exercise that. If the Minister does not exercise that, and given how busy the Minister's Department is going to be, that may not happen. The default then is section 40(7)(a). With...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: I will finish my point, if I may. I thank the Chair. I will give one concrete example, but not Charlestown. Up the road from Charlestown is IKEA, which is in Ballymun but in Fingal County Council's area. When IKEA opened, the rates were worth so much to Fingal County Council that the rates for all ratepayers and businesses in Fingal were cut by 10%, the biggest rate decrease that council...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: Amendment No. 339 seeks to delete the word "rural" on page 101 with respect to the obligation to prepare a strategy for sustainable development and regeneration. Why is there a reference to "sustainable rural development"? While I am for sustainable rural development, we need to have sustainable development in other areas as well. I am conscious that section 42(2)(a) refers to compact...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: I thank the Minister of State. It is a good explanation.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: This wording applies to all planning authorities so they must do what is set out in section 42(1) and (2), which reads "The strategy shall set out objectives relating to ... sustainable rural development". What if there is a planning authority that does not have rural areas in its functional area? This states they have to set out objectives relating to sustainable rural development. There...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: This states it must set out objectives relating to sustainable rural development, but it may have no rural areas in its functional area. I appreciate that most planning authorities have rural areas but not all do.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: It says they all have to do it, does it not?

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Planning and Development Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Mar 2024)

Cian O'Callaghan: Where is the "appropriate" bit?