Michael Kitt (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister to the House. Like Senator Bannon, I wish to pay tribute to Mr. Justice Flood and Judge Mahon and the tribunal. The tribunal's work is very important. The Minister has explained to the House the reason the legislation is required. He made the point about the need to allow the tribunal discretion on the amended terms of reference. The Minister introduced motions which were passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas on 17 November 2004. The Minister has clarified a number of issues which were raised in the House in previous debates. He explained the discretion allowed because of the age and state of health of one or more persons who are likely to be in a position to provide useful information to the tribunal. The Minister also said that it could take up to 2014 or 2015 to complete the work of the tribunal if there was no change to the terms of reference. This has now been done.

The Minister referred to the age and state of health of certain persons. Other issues were raised by Senator Bannon about the likely cost and duration of the investigation and whether the investigation is likely to allow the tribunal to make findings of fact and conclusions and-or make recommendations. We must consider that any other factor which the tribunal considers could have an impact on its investigations.

The Minister stated that the public hearings of the tribunal would be completed by March 2007. He stated that 16 December 2004 is the cut-off point for submissions to the tribunal. I am pleased the Minister has brought forward this instrument which was signed on 3 December 2004. A good day's work is being done today in clarifying these matters.

The Minister used the phrase "not unreasonable discretion" and this is very true. The tribunal now has the opportunity to look at issues. The case of a small sum of money which may cost the tribunal €9,000 to investigate highlights the way in which costs can get out of control.

The Minister referred to other legislation on planning and development and local government which he and his predecessors introduced. These include provisions in the Planning and Development Act 2000, the Local Government Act 2001, the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act 2001 and the Standards in Public Office Act 2001.

The Minister has been proactive in the planning process. Many local authorities have had planning difficulties. I was a member of Galway County Council in the 1970s when section 4 motions were used for the first time in the county council chamber in order to implement decent planning laws. RTE's "Seven Days" programme came to County Galway to look at some of the proposals and section 4 motions that had been passed. I do not think the programme found anything that was irregular. Everything was done with proper planning and development and there was no question of corruption.

Thanks to the Minister and his predecessor, there is more understanding of what it means to build a house in rural Ireland. The regulations on one-off housing have been particularly helpful. Problems still exist about pre-planning meetings and this is an issue which should be dealt with as a priority by local authorities. Electoral area committee meetings are being held and County Galway has five electoral areas. This issue could be raised at those meetings in conjunction with other issues.

In Galway it is proving difficult to see a planner. I recommended to the county council that it should make more staff available as one way of dealing with issues that could cause problems with the planning process. Once a planning application has been submitted it must be decided upon within a statutory period of time and this is to be welcomed. Very simple things such as the taking over of a housing estate seem to be lower down the list of priorities. It can be very difficult for residents of housing estates when they are informed that their housing estate will not be dealt with promptly. This is not acceptable to me nor to any county councillor in Galway. The process of finalising housing estates and taking them over is not happening.

A similar situation applies to the enforcement of planning permissions. The question of quarrying is also an issue in the Minister's constituency as it is in County Galway. It is a matter of waiting for enforcement officers to deal with these issues because they must deal with planning applications first. If issues such as pre-planning are dealt with, there will not be difficulties down the road.

Mr. Justice Flood and Judge Mahon have discovered that corruption took place. I am pleased that these issues are being discussed. I hope it will lead to another debate in this House about planning, An Bord Pleanála and interest groups who have a role in planning. I welcome this legislation and welcome the Minister's explanation of the thinking behind it.