Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Finneran. I concur with much of what Senator Leyden has said and I compliment the Minister on publishing and bringing the Bill to the House. The Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2009 is not the complete document or perfect, however, and changes are required.

On this side of the House we would welcome any efforts made to enhance the planning process. In this Bill the Minister has brought forward a number of initiatives to bring about change to planning and development in this country. A buzz phrase from the past five or six years has been the creation of sustainable communities and the support of economic renewal.

I am disappointed the Minister, through the Bill, has questioned the role, integrity and responsibility of county and city councillors. We must examine the role and responsibility of county councillors, along with planners, in the effort to build a core planning strategy in any local authority area. As Senator Paudie Coffey said in his remarks, one size does not fit all and each county, town and city has a unique development plan which is a blueprint for the future.

Power in county councils cannot be diluted. Members opposite understand the importance of county councillors in the election process as well as I. I am worried this Bill will erode the powers of county councillors. Are we to say today that local democracy does not really matter and the centralisation of the planning process is what the Minister, Deputy Gormley, is proposing? If this Bill is passed as it has been presented, will the Minister allow the centralisation of the planning process in a "one size fits all" manner, taking away the voice of the local councillor? That would be the wrong move.

I absolutely agree that in some cases, the planning culture that prevailed was not good and ran contrary to good governance and sustainable development. As Senator Bradford rightly stated, the combination of the lure of the euro and greed meant people went berserk and lost sight the overriding principle of what communities should be about. The Minister was correct in saying that bad planning "can be even more cancerous and can eat into the very fabric of our economy".

We are dealing with the legacy of bad planning and the cosy relationship between the Minister of State's party and developers.