Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

It is extraordinary if one thinks about it. The very same people who are getting themselves into a lather of sweat about one-off guidelines and the concept of the hoi polloi living in rural Ireland are those who would want to protect the great houses. I want to protect the great houses. I have a good track record in that regard but I also want to give an even break to people who have come from, live in and who can contribute to rural areas.

I do not agree with my good friend, Senator Norris. Not for the first time we are on different sides of the argument. The idea that there is something wrong with counties like Roscommon, Monaghan, Donegal or Galway having a high proportion of one-off houses suggests the Senator should pay a few more trips to rural Ireland. The reality is that the proportion of one-off houses is closely related to the distribution of population. In my opening contribution I referred to an interesting study which showed that more one-off planning permissions were granted in the Six Counties than in England, Scotland and Wales together because that is the way we are; we are Irish and we do not, and cannot, all live in towns or cities.

Senator Norris also made the point that it was dreadful to build one-off houses because it requires people to drive cars. He is not the only person who has made that point. I had a go at the Green Party recently in this regard. People who live in towns also drive cars. Most people aspire to having a car and there is no crime in having one. In this city where public transport choices are available people still prefer to use cars.

Reference was made by Senator Norris to an article by a Donegal County Council planner. Those views are most interesting but I am not familiar with the article so I will not say too much about it. I have no doubt Senator Norris was absolutely punctilious and correct in the way he cited the reference but in other councils the difficulty to which he adverted has been resolved by providing residency requirements. Anybody who has been a councillor knows full well that one can put a residency requirement, which is a burden, in planning permissions. It is not for me to comment on the particular case as I have not read it.

Senator Feighan spoke of the superior attitude taken to councillors. He was most unfair to Senator White. We all accept that councillors do their best and work hard but we would equally accept that perfection is not always attained. He was concerned the guidelines might be abused in some planning departments. I can assure him the guidelines specifically recognise the different requirements of an area which has been depopulated, which is what he was talking about, and areas which are close to urban centres.

A number of Senators referred to An Bord Pleanála. We cannot adopt an À la carte approach to it. I have frequently been critical of the board but we cannot adopt the approach that when it makes a decision we like, it is great but when we do not like its decision, it is appalling. That is at the core of the current debate about the M3. Many of the people who would be writing to The Irish Times about me if I interfered with An Bord Pleanála, were in fact advising in the past 48 hours that that is exactly what I should do. I spoke recently to the chairperson of An Bord Pleanála. The board is making a great effort. It is aware that in the past decisions were made and processes were adopted but if one looks at its performance it is doing its best.

Senator White and another speaker suggested that the Irish Rural Dwellers Association should become a nominating body to An Bord Pleanála. I am sympathetic to that view. I told the association that if it makes a submission I would give serious consideration to it.

I reiterate the Government's commitment to sustainable development in rural Ireland. The people of rural Ireland are its heart. If we drive the people out and put them all towns, high rise buildings and whatever, we will not do this country any service. The new guidelines reflect this and seek to promote the viability of rural communities. The guidelines bring greater clarity for planners and applicants alike. They should help to ensure that planning inconsistencies and rigidities in rural Ireland are eliminated.

The objectives of the planning and development Act are most interesting; it was never intended to be an Act to promote the sterilisation of rural Ireland.