Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir O'Reilly fá choinne a chuid ama a roinnt liom. Caithfidh mé a rá nach aontaím le mór-chuid den méid a bhí le rá aige. Déanfaidh mé mo chuid phointí féin.

I could talk at some length about planning as it is an area that has exercised me as a councillor and Senator. I will not be voting against Second Stage of this Bill because new legislation is required in the area of planning, although I do not believe this is the finished article and I will be proposing amendments on Committee Stage. I would like to have the opportunity to do that, and voting against the legislation would not allow us an opportunity to reshape it.

I am approaching this from the point of view of someone who lives in a rural area which is designated a town. I support rural housing. I listened to the Minister's assertion that we have enough housing land rezoned to last us until 2075. This is absolute nonsense. It is technically true, but it does not stack up. Planners use this time and time again. In an area such as my own — the Derrybeg-Bunbeg area in County Donegal, in which the town is designated under the county development plan — houses can be built at eight to the acre, but in reality, nobody will build at this density. It can be done but it will not be. All land zoned within that area — every hectare of it — would need to be built upon to provide the figures the Minister continues to put out.

The other problem with the figures is that the infrastructure is not in place. The council has just rejected a proposal to build a shop unit and two apartments in the centre of the town. It cannot be progressed because there is no sewerage scheme in the town. That is replicated right across the State. We need to get real.

I welcome the provision allowing the extension of planning permissions. The amendment proposed is quite cumbersome, specifying that the authority must be satisfied either that there have been substantial works or that works could not be carried out for commercial, economic or technical reasons. I would like to see definitions in this regard. If a person has planning permission to build a house but has not built it because he or she cannot get a loan from the bank, what will be required? Will he or she need to provide all the paperwork, including bank statements and so on, which will tie up the planners as they go through them, simply to prove we are in a recession? The process could be made simpler. The idea is right but let us not tie people up with an entirely new application which takes eight weeks to process and requires that an agent be employed to lodge the paperwork.

The principle of development contribution schemes for schools is worthwhile but I disagree with its application because, as other Senators have noted, the buck is being passed to local authorities. Contribution schemes are excessive in some areas and they represent a major burden for rural self-build projects. As the schemes are not covered by mortgages, individuals must bear the costs by themselves. I am opposed to widening the schemes because the Exchequer should fund site acquisitions for schools.

An Bord Pleanála is a very contentious body. It has recently made interesting decisions on two major infrastructure projects in County Donegal, the Stranorlar-Balleybofey bypass and the 100 kV power line project for the west and south of the county. The board approved the 100 kV line despite the inspector's recommendation that it be rejected, whereas it rejected the bypass in the face of the inspector's recommendation for approval. I am concerned that two or three people in the board's offices in Dublin can overturn the plans made by road designers and council planners and thereby throw their projects into chaos. It took the board two years to make these decisions, which is another problem.

We can use planning to support Irish language communities. The Irish language and the Gaeltacht ought to be added to section 4, which requires that local development plans take cognisance of housing. I understand why the population threshold for local area plans is being increased from 2,000 to 5,000 in light of the pressures involved in delivering such plans, but this is unfortunate because they are the best way to provide planning. I would like the threshold to remain at 2,000.

I support the requirement for a quorum of two thirds of local authority members. I have experience of councillors making terrible rezoning decisions without considering planning needs. The two thirds requirement will force councillors to be more considerate in their decisions and allow smaller parties and individuals to raise their concerns.

According to the legal opinion we have received, council takeovers of estate management can only be initiated by owners. However, some owners may not want local authorities to take over their estates before construction is complete or because they are awaiting planning permission on other projects. A provision should be included in the Bill whereby the residents of local estates can lobby local authorities to enter discussions with owners on a management takeover.

Senator Ó Domhnaill spoke about the new regulations which prohibit developments adjacent to national primary and secondary roads. This has landlocked people across a massive area of County Donegal. This issue has been raised for many years with the Departments of Transport and the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and it needs to be resolved immediately. I share the Minister's concerns regarding road safety and turning points but we need to be imaginative in finding a solution.

I will not be voting against the Bill on Second Stage because I believe it can be improved through amendments on Committee Stage.