Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

However, the Bill will establish a division that will allow for pre-consultation and public notice. The local authorities will be able to reflect the views.

I have no major difficulty with the Bill. However, I would like the Minister of State to listen to my only objection. The stakeholders are the local authority, the councillors and the public and they may object. I wonder about the composition of the board. It is to reflect planning and environmental expertise, and voluntary input. Handling objections is an enormous task. I have often wondered how An Bord Pleanála works. Will the new division help to improve matters? When serious objections are made, how will it make its decisions? It is a mammoth task to reflect all the objections that might be made.

I welcome the section of the Bill that deals with rogue developers. As councillors, we have all experienced developers who completed developments and failed to honour the conditions of the planning permission. The onus is now placed on the developer to go to the High Court if he or she wants a planning decision overturned, which is a positive development.

Social and affordable housing works well in my local authority area, as we have a county manager who will not tolerate failure to honour the percentage requirements in any estate. I understand that it does not work so well in some local authority areas and the Minister should reflect on the matter again. The guidelines should be administered nationally.

The Bill will fast-track major projects affecting the environment such as incinerators and landfill sites, transport projects such airports and harbours, and energy projects such as gas pipe installation and windfarms. However, the democratic process will still be allowed to work. It is important that the process still involves the local authority to reflect the local development plan and the views of the public, after which the division of An Bord Pleanála takes the final decision.

Judicial review remains a possibility if people are still not satisfied. An Bord Pleanála will have the power to refuse planning permission on the basis of the points and objections made. The timeline allows six weeks initially, ten weeks for debate by the council and then 18 weeks for final decision. This will be a good move, provided it works. Today we have some scenarios that can take years to reach conclusion. Provided we have a balance reflecting regional development and the spatial strategy, that the democratic process is retained, and that the timeframe is right, the Bill is welcome and I hope it works.