James Bannon (Fine Gael)

We are all in agreement that more power should be given to local authority members. As I pointed out in regard to several other items of legislation, powers have been taken away from elected members. What frustrates elected members around the country is that county development plans are prepared and signed off by the elected members but the interpretation of definitions is subsequently taken by county managers when they consider planning applications. The interpretation of managers and elected members frequently differs. This can be most frustrating. The problem most likely has to do with the wording, which councillors sometimes do not fully understand.

Managers always appear to have a knack of getting around the wording in county development plans to accommodate themselves, which leads to frustration for elected members as they are conscious of cases where young people are trying to get planning permission, for example, on their own farms. This is especially a problem if they are in close proximity to a scenic area even if the area in which they want to build does not come within that designation and would not obstruct a view of the designated scenic area. Common sense does not prevail and this frustrates elected members from time to time.

I hope the Minister will bring some clarity to this matter and try to ensure that planning permission can be given for sites with views over a townsland or section of townsland because currently no development is allowed in areas that are designated as scenic. In some cases where a person farms 50, 60, 70 or 100 acres it is very frustrating if some section of the farm is not considered acceptable for a housing development for the use of the landowner or a family member.