Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Roche, to the House and I welcome the new planning guidelines he has published. I do not want to take issue with any particular aspect of the guidelines, so I will speak about the broad issue of planning.

Senator Ó Murchú made a valid point when he said that while it is important to have guidelines, it is more important to ensure they are applied. Some local authorities claim they have been implementing the guidelines for many years. That is true in some cases but not in others. As the guidelines offer significant scope for interpretation, the manner in which they are implemented will need to be monitored closely. The difference made on the ground by the guidelines introduced by the Minister's predecessor is a matter of debate.

I would like to declare an interest at this point — my brother is a senior planner with Cork County Council. It is natural, therefore, that I took some satisfaction from Senator Bradford's remarks about planning in that area.

I wish to endorse a point made by several Senators about the substantial increase in the pace of development in this country over the past ten years. When one considers the number of houses being built is reaching record levels every year, it is clear that significant pressures are being faced by the planning profession. As part of their work, conscientious planners need to visit certain places outside normal office hours.

It is unfortunate that the private sector is attracting many public sector planners. Such people need to be quite dedicated to public service to stay in the public sector, given that they could earn much more money by working in the private sector as consultants. It is tempting for one to be a poacher rather than a gamekeeper. It has been mentioned that there is a significant level of turnover of younger staff. It can be quite difficult to operate any set of guidelines when staff have not been in place for long enough to understand and develop the ethos of planning.

I understand both sides of the planning argument. As a public representative, I receive many representations about refused planning permissions, for example. Like all Senators, I have argued the cases of such people with the planning authorities. It is not realistic to be an extreme libertarian in this regard, however, given that we have to observe the groundwater directive, for example. We need to be consistent with such environmental standards when we decide to build certain types of buildings in certain locations.

I do not have much sympathy with the Dublin-oriented view that one-off houses represent a blister on the countryside. It is good to see signs of habitation, except in highly scenic areas, because such features enhance rather than diminish the interest of the countryside. As my wife comes from the west of Scotland I am familiar with the area. There are huge tracts of the Highlands completely deserted and that is a bit depressing. Many parts of this country do not have breathtaking scenery and one would welcome signs of human habitation. We mustreorient towards a different developing situation. The population in this country is rising rapidly. I do not accept that people should live in tower blocks to make public transport viable. If people want to live in the countryside we have a lot of space to accommodate them. We have one of the lowest population densities in western Europe.

The value of agricultural land has decreased. Our agricultural production needs can be met efficiently on a small area of land. I am not in favour of pushing small farmers out of business. I fear small farmers on marginal land will go out of business which would lead to greater depopulation. One cannot blame farmers for seeking higher value for their land when there is a demand for rural housing. They may use some of the money for higher education, for their children or to keep the farm viable for longer.

The population of this country was 8 million 150 years ago. The response to that argument is that people did not all have to travel long distances to work. We need an effective and flexible planning system. The architects in Cork County Council have produced a guide to one-off rural houses. They have produced a couple of dozen models of well-designed houses which has created a lot of interest in other countries.

Sometimes planning is presented as a black and white issue but I do not think that is the case. We have an interest in proper planning that is responsive to people's needs. It should not be overly dirigiste or overly ideological. It may be that building houses in the countryside is more expensive per head than building a tower block. We live in what we hope is a reasonably free society. We have to accommodate reasonable demands to live in the countryside. Many amenities and social facilities such as the small local creamery have disappeared from the countryside. The reflux into the countryside is a welcome development. If one can guide it constructively I would not be against that process. I wish the Minister well in the implementation of his guidelines and compliment him on them.