John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, to the House for this debate. It is some 18 months since I last spoke on this issue. I pride myself on my good memory but I had to jog it to recall what I said on the previous occasion. I wish to reiterate a number of the points I made then.

It is time for the Government to give serious consideration to a review of the activities of An Bord Pleanála, with a particular view to securing its disbandment and the establishment of a number of regional planning boards. It is inappropriate that the same body is charged with administering planning and dealing with development issues in Dublin city centre, for example, an area with its own particular planning issues and problems, and also charged with overseeing planning in, for instance, south County Kilkenny. It would make for a much fairer and more balanced process if the Government were to enact legislation to provide for An Bord Pleanála to be broken up into sub-boards or regional boards.

From a planning perspective, what infuriates most public representatives and members of the public is the inconsistencies still evident in planning decisions from different local authorities and even within the same local authority area. Although new rural planning guidelines have been published in the last several months, there is no evidence these inconsistencies have been eliminated. If we are to establish the confidence of the public in the planning process, the current levels of consistencies must not continue.

Reference was made during the last debate on this issue that there is a strong tradition in this country of dispersed rural housing. It is the case in my own area. In the last several years, however, there seems to be growing emphasis from local authority planners and even within regional planning guidelines on a move away from that dispersed housing tradition. The reality is that the traditions of housing in Ireland are very different from those of most of our neighbours. We have the tradition of one-off rural houses scattered throughout the countryside; it is something that is embedded in our culture. One can travel to any part of the country and see any number of ruins of houses and houses in different stages of decay which show the tradition of the dispersed rural housing pattern. This is something that must be firmly reflected in whatever guidelines we establish in the future.

Another controversial subject in the area of planning and development and one about which I receive numerous representations is the area of development charges. I have spoken on this issue before in the House. For the main part, particularly in rural areas where people get virtually no service for the charges paid, they are an entirely unfair and inequitable tax on those seeking to maintain their own home. It is one matter to impose development charges on new housing schemes and developments in towns, villages and cities where much needed public facilities and amenities are being provided, such as connections to a sewerage line, public water supply, public parks and other active recreational facilities. Some people living in rural Ireland, however, cannot even get the county council to repair their road, have no access to a public water supply and do not enjoy services to maintain footpaths and lighting. In these circumstances the charges are wholly unfair.

Moreover, the charges vary wildly from one local authority area to another. In County Kilkenny, for example, they are substantially higher than those levied in County Carlow, which for electoral purposes is in the same constituency. This type of inconsistency and inequity leads to much anger among those who are trying to secure and maintain their own home. It is something that could usefully be examined by the Government in the future.

In regard to rural housing, I spoke also about the local need issue. The success of a person's application for planning permission in a rural area is often determined on the basis of whether he or she has a connection with the area and can trace some form of family link. It is vitally important that any rural area should be able to attract new people. People from outside the area who wish to build a house in a particular parish or village should not be prohibited from so doing. In many areas, however, including in large swathes of Kilkenny, this prohibition exists. This is not appropriate.

I have always believed there is a consistent problem with regard to the interpretation that planning authorities put on development plans. I was a member of Kilkenny County Council when the latest county development plan was drawn up. I found that the interpretation put on the development plan was in marked contrast to the intentions of the councillors in drafting the plan. So many of the problems public representatives encounter in regard to planning relate to the difficulties arising from the incorrect interpretations often taken by officials of planning authorities in regard to the planning applications that come before them.

It is significant that planning and development in many parts of the country is grossly hindered by the continuing lack of the provision of adequate public sewerage facilities in smaller towns and villages. In the village of Killmacow in County Kilkenny, located not far from Waterford city, the sewerage scheme has still not been constructed. It has been a political issue for the past 30 years but has never been resolved even though this is an area under significant development pressure. Far more resources must be invested into this scheme to ensure these small rural towns and villages will have adequate sewerage facilities into the future.

We are all aware of the ongoing debate about the nitrates directive and the quality of the water supply. Some of the greatest contributors to water problems are local authorities. There are countless villages and towns in which, often untreated, sewage is still pumped into rivers. That still happens throughout the country. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has an issue with the impact of the nitrates directive on agriculture. The Department needs to seriously examine the role played by local authorities in ensuring that the position whereby untreated sewage finds it way into our rivers is not allowed to continue into the future.

There is a discrepancy in the amount of grant awarded to people throughout the country who wish to connect to established group sewerage schemes. In Kilkenny the grant is approximately €1,200 or €1,300 per house. That figure should be reviewed and significantly increased because it is not commensurate with the cost of the provision of such facilities into the future.