Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

I acknowledge the Minister of State's remarks that this measure and this section do not exclude the development of local area plans but they remove the statutory requirement on local authorities to develop local area plans for towns with a population of 2,000 and more. In essence it is left to the discretion of senior planners and managers within a local authority area whether a local authority plan is developed because there is no longer a statutory requirement.

The Minister of State might say that a councillor or councillors for a particular area might insist that a local area plan be done, but unless they have the full support of the majority of the council, that may not happen. There is an element of discretion here that did not exist heretofore. The potential effect of this is that the development of towns of the size or order of 2,000 or more may be left behind in the hierarchy of development within a county or local authority jurisdiction. It may depend on how the officials or executive of that council view that town or village or what priority they give that place in the hierarchy of development needs within that county.

That is not good enough. It moves away from the fundamental principle of making local area and development plans which is the accountability of the locally elected member with the assistance of the executive. This section and the entire Bill give primacy to the planner and while it gives the elected members and the public opportunities only to make submissions and observations, there is no statutory requirement to make the plan. That is a move away from strengthening local democracy and how towns, villages and communities develop. It is an attempt to manage from the top down.