Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

I welcome that the Minister is here to listen to what I will say. The area of planning is a very complex issue. As many other Senators have said, there is urban planning, rural planning, a national spatial strategy and the Building Control Bill 2005. It begs the question as to whether we can divide the issue into sections. One cannot talk about planning in a broad sense, which I am trying to do today.

We have experienced an economic boom over the past ten years and a significant escalation in planning applications. A statistic from last year indicated that over 86,000 planning applications were made. God knows what it will be in 2006 if it continues to increase. We also have a better-educated population and a better environment. I welcome the current draft guidelines for consultation, a part of which is the attempt to upgrade a quality service in terms of a better interaction between the applicant and the planning authority in the context of processing the application, consultation, filling out forms and talking generally about the impact of the intended house or larger project on an area.

In his regulations and planning guidelines, the Minister indicated that we must streamline the process and have staff to facilitate it. They must be courteous, open and transparent in their interaction with applicants. Other Senators stated that many members of the public do not understand what the development plan means. The Minister spoke about providing it on-line and making applications via electronic means. Having said this, we must get the message out about the development plan and how it works so people will have an interest in it if their own areas are affected.

Development charges were referred to. There seems to be some inconsistency among local authorities concerning development charges on applications, whether they are for one-off houses or a development of 300 houses. I do not understand how the system works and the applicants do not understand how these charges are arrived at. I would welcome further discussion on this matter.

The Minister referred to performance indicators but I find it hard to understand what this means regarding facilitating and processing difficulties in the context of better interaction with officials behind counters. I am concerned that with all of the applications being received, we have the number of staff to deal with them. That is the problem. I have experience in this area in that well-qualified planners come here from other countries but cannot get onto planning courses for whatever reason. They are postgraduate students and qualified in their primary degrees with a subject matter related to planning but when they apply for postgraduate courses, they are turned down. I do not understand why. The Minister has heard me say this previously. It would be no harm were he to have a discussion with the powers that be in universities running these courses to produce a greater number of qualified people to deal with the backlog of applications.

I welcome the streamlining in the area of An Bord Pleanála but there is still some inconsistency in how it arrives at its decisions. I have raised this matter time and again in that I question the composition of An Bord Pleanála. If a member of its staff has the duty of visiting a site and returns with a positive presentation to proceed with the application, I cannot understand why the board would overrule him or her. Why would one send the official out if one is not prepared to abide by his or her opinion? What is his or her role? The reverse can happen, in that planning permission could be granted by a local authority, an official from An Bord Pleanála would gainsay the permission but the board would go with the local authority's opinion.

I do not know how the system works. There is no transparency in how the board arrives at its decisions. The area is complex and there is a feeling among the public that we are not getting value for money. People must pay a lot of money when they appeal to An Bord Pleanála. This issue must be discussed.

I welcome the decision on one-off housing. In the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s one was faced with blanket darkness when one moved out of Dublin or any of the major cities. One would arrive into a town at 7 p.m. on a winter evening but would not see a light. Over the past ten years, we have suddenly seen the blossoming of sparkling lights in small towns and villages. This is welcome as communities have come alive. There are people there. People are going back to their roots and why not? I am not asking for Southfork-style housing designs. I am asking for local authorities to grant——