John Ellis (Fianna Fail)

Senators Buttimer and Coffey are very passionate about this but local councillors are probably the most passionate about it because they are the ones who wanted certain areas rezoned. Some of them were of questionable intent, to put it mildly, in certain areas of the country. This is to be regretted. It is up to local authorities to decide how to implement the planning laws within certain guidelines. Leitrim County Council has designated areas where development is allowed or otherwise, even in the smallest of villages.

Up and down the country, major towns have been destroyed absolutely by planning decisions that allowed multiples to set up on the outskirts. There is no life left in the middle of some towns as all the business has been taken from their centres. This is more worrying than anything else in the debate on development plans.

While Senator Coffey might see certain merit in what he is advocating, what is probably needed is a strengthening of the powers of local authority members regarding total planning. They should be accountable. I refer to accountability in terms of wrong decisions that are not in the interests of the communities in which councillors live. In many cases decisions are taken by people who do not live in the area, who exempt themselves from certain planning decisions because they know that they have a vested interest, directly or indirectly.