Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

I want to discuss the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government's adopted Policy Statement on Development Management and Access to National Roads, which concerns both national primary and national secondary routes. I raise this issue due to the fact the planning guidelines as adopted by the Department do not differentiate between national primary and national secondary routes with regard to planning permission approvals or objections.

For example, in County Donegal at present, when an individual obtains approval from Donegal County Council to build a house on his or her own land along a national secondary route, in at least nine cases out of every ten the National Roads Authority objects under legislation to that approval. I am dealing with a number of such cases at present and it is very difficult to make representations on these cases given the NRA is backed up by national legislation.

The differentiation between national primary and national secondary routes must be made. The national primary routes are faster, better roads in comparison to the national secondary routes, which are lesser roads and do not have the same traffic volumes.

The Development Control Advice and Guidelines 1982 and the Policy and Planning Framework for Roads 1985 are the currently adopted position of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. I was on a delegation from Donegal County Council some time ago to the National Roads Authority on this issue. The authority told us that its hands were effectively tied, that it was only implementing the legislation as it currently exists and that in order for any differentiation to be made between national primary and national secondary routes for the purpose of planning approvals or with regard to planning objections, a differentiation would have to be made by the Department.

I understand there has been consultation between the Department of Transport, the National Roads Authority and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. While I welcome this, I understand it has been going on for the past two years and it is now time for a conclusion. The current economic climate makes it particularly difficult for young couples living in rural areas to afford to apply for planning permissions, which is one aspect. However, when they apply for planning permission, it gets shot down because of conditions going back to 1982 and 1985, which suggests we must reconsider the issue.

I accept the position that we must improve our national routes and I very much welcome the funding which has been available, particularly over the past ten years or so, for national secondary and primary routes. However, it is not fair to categorise national secondary routes, particularly roads like the N56 in Donegal, in the same categorisation as national primary routes, which is where the vast majority of the funding has been focused. Those routes are wider, faster roads which have increased traffic volumes whereas the national secondary routes are the equivalent of regional roads.

I raise this issue on behalf of many individuals in County Donegal who have been refused planning permission due to objections made by the National Roads Authority. These effectively end up with An Bord Pleanála where there is at least a six months waiting list at present. This issue also affects other counties with national secondary routes such as Kerry and Galway. I hope the Minister of State can give me an update as to the current position and the timeframe that is expected from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in terms of reaching a conclusion.

I understand from the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, who I have been lobbying on this issue, that the working group which has been established will report back some time in the first half of 2009 with its findings. While I am not sure whether the Minister of State will have any further information on that matter, I urge the Department to change the guidelines to create the differentiation while taking road safety into consideration but also allowing young people in particular build the houses they want on their own land, which may be along national secondary routes. It is not the fault of the families or individuals if the site available to them is located beside a national secondary route.