James Bannon (Fine Gael)

The development plan must consist of a written statement, maps, drawings and plans indicating the development objective of the particular county. It must show the local authority's objectives for the development and renewal of obsolete areas; the preserving, improving and extending of amenities; and the further provision of new water supplies and sewerage services. The extension of these supplies and services such as housing, traffic improvement, land use, zoning and enveloping may also be shown on the county development plan.

It is important to remember that, once made, the development plans do not require the sanction or approval of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, although some changes in this respect have been considered by the Department. With so many new councillors elected in June, it is important for the development of counties that this message is communicated by the Department and I hope the Minister will embark on such a programme. In that context, I understand seminars are being organised by the IPA and other bodies to update councillors on legislation. Moreover, a document of this kind should be introduced and forwarded to each elected member.

All policy matters are reserved for the local authority except those which were removed by the Minister's predecessor in respect of waste management to allow him to introduce mass incineration. A number of applications are before the authorities and more are submitted daily as companies plan incineration in different parts of the country, about which the public is very concerned. I plead with the Minister to ensure that any system of waste disposal which is introduced is safe and has no health implications. This very important issue must be examined because research in the US and Europe is producing conflicting results. I ask the Minister to proceed with caution and hope he has a change of mind on this issue.

Submissions and observations by individuals and voluntary bodies can be of great help to local authorities in their task of formulating objectives for development plans. The public consultation exercise must be improved throughout the country to involve local communities, voluntary groups, associations, societies, statutory bodies, service providers and the public through the distribution of a questionnaire to aid the process. It is important that everyone is involved in the planning process so that everyone knows what is happening. A common sense approach is always important.

Naturally, public representatives will press the claims of one part of their area more than others. This positive action is to be welcomed and, if the public representatives' proposals find their way into the development plan, as is often the case, the local authority officials are obliged by law to take all necessary steps to ensure that they are implemented. I am often not happy with the implementation of the county development plans when public representatives have been fobbed off with excuses such as the lack of staff or funding. Such excuses should not be accepted by public representatives. The Minister should also ensure that funding is made available for the implementation of the plans.

As we all know, planning is not a new process. Historical records indicate that ancient cities had areas set aside for housing, temples and other activities. Walls were built around towns, some of which are still with us today. The design of some of our buildings, towns and cities gives an impression of great vision in the minds of those who gave us the artefacts which history has fortunately preserved. I am proud that one of my greatest achievements as a member of Longford County Council was to save Longford Courthouse by not allowing it to be destroyed by a wrecking ball, as planned by council officials and Fianna Fáil in County Longford — this fact is on record. Unfortunately, we have not been as vigilant or active in the preservation of our artefacts as our neighbours in Europe who have preserved small towns and villages.

Planning in the counties was not a prominent feature until relatively recently. The old Acts under which planning was governed dealt primarily with towns and cities but it was not the mandatory system we have today. Planning for anything naturally requires a common sense approach and the country developed well without laws in the past. However, the population has changed and it is important to have a process in place. However, there are buildings which are a credit to the people who constructed them in the 1700s and 1800s when there was little or no planning.

As in many other areas, Governments have taken initiatives from advances in law in other countries and decided that Irish people have to be controlled. The tombstone of rural Ireland is already being made because of too much bureaucracy and regulation in planning. I am glad the Minister made a statement to the House in this regard. Planning presents a great difficulty in the context of rural regeneration. The Planning and Development Act 2000 has discriminated against people who wish to return and settle in the rural area from where they came. Many find that the planning door is slammed in their faces as they are effectively excluded from their place of birth under the terms of the Planning and Development Act 2000. In that context, I am glad the Minister intends to revise the Bill, as I hope I correctly assume he does.

A typical case is that of a man who wanted to move his family and business back to the midlands last year. His new house on the family farm would have provided extra comfort for his aged mother and mother-in-law and the business would have provided good jobs and long-term security for a village of more than 60 people. The location and design chosen for the house were the least obstructive and the furthest away from a stream on his farm, just more than a mile from the town. He agreed to install a Puraflow sewerage system, which was not requested by the local authority. The family went to great pains to conform to the local county development plan and gained unconditional approval from the county council after approximately two months. However, An Taisce promptly appealed the decision to An Bord Pleanála and several months later the family received a letter stating that planning had been refused on the basis that it was unsustainable, isolated, constituted random development, seriously injured the amenities of the area and would affect tourism. It referred to roads in the area being too narrow and that, therefore, the proposed development would pose a danger to public health. All this appeared in a damning report indicating a refusal even though all these issues had already been addressed and had satisfied the planner when the local council granted the person planning permission.

The officials from An Taisce and the inspectors who wrote the report for An Bord Pleanála obviously were from outside the area and working to a different agenda. This was a bitter blow to the family and such a trend, if allowed to continue, will spell the death knell for our rural areas. Unfortunately, this case is not unique. I know of many similar cases and the list is growing. I hope the Minister will act to counteract this trend. He has indicated that he will do so and I sincerely hope he follows through on that. I am as concerned as anyone else about protecting the environment but, increasingly, applications are being frustrated by the refusal of authorities to grant planning permissions for single rural dwellings for an applicant's own use. This issue is frequently raised.

With farming in a depressed state it is not possible for a family to live off the land. Many farmers wish to provide sites for their sons and daughters who work in neighbouring towns. Sites in towns may cost as much as €60,000 to €70,000 while a young person might be offered a site on his or her parents' farm which would be of great assistance to that person securing a more affordable house. The Minister spoke of the number of houses being built and this is an area to which he should give due consideration.

Many applicants are frustrated in their efforts to obtain planning permission because planning regulations have become increasingly restrictive. I am very much in favour, as is the Minister, of allowing people to live in their home areas and to raise their families in the vicinity of their parents' house or the home of a friend without damaging the beauty of the countryside. I am informed by council colleagues throughout the country that too many planners and An Bord Pleanála are taking an easy way out by finding some point on which to refuse applications for planning permission. The reason given is trivial in some cases such as the need to protect agricultural land, which is a joke when one sees some of the best land in the country currently being planted. I am not calling for a policy of ribbon development but merely one of allowing people to live in the place where they grew up and commute to work in a nearby town or to work from home.

What is causing most bitterness and resentment throughout the country is that some applications can go through unchallenged, yet even if one conforms with the requirements of county development plans in every detail and spends an average of €25,000 applying for planning permission, one's hopes can be dashed by the planning authority.