Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for putting that view on the record but if that is the view and if nothing changes with regard to the local area plans and the way councils operate them, why is it proposed to insert a new section in the Bill which changes the way local area plans are to be managed within the councils? What is the rationale for doing that if there is to be no change? Are we further complicating an already complicated Bill? If there is to be no change, why are we inserting new interpretations in the Bill? This represents a change. The threshold is being increased from populations of 2,000 to 5,000. The Minister is saying there will not be any material change on the ground but if that is the case what is the rationale for inserting this section with regard to the local area plan? Are we meddling in something in which we should not be meddling in terms of a centralised, top-down approach? That is the problem we have with it.

With regard to the national spatial strategy, I hope the Minister is not of the view that those of us on this side of the House believe the national spatial strategy will have a detrimental effect on development throughout the country because that is not the case. Fine Gael believes there should be a national spatial strategy and we agree with 90% or even more of the content of the existing national spatial strategy but our problem is with the way the national spatial strategy is formulated and implemented. Fine Gael is concerned that this has not been subjected to the same rigours of a development plan. It is formulated by the Department and by the Minister of the day and that Minister, whomever it is and from whatever party, can change the national spatial strategy. That change can then have a knock-on effect throughout the entire planning system. That is our concern. We do not believe the existing national spatial strategy will have a detrimental effect on development but we believe changes could be brought in easily by any Minister or senior officials in the Department that could have a serious effect on development plans from the top down to local area plans and county and city development plans. I wanted to clarify that important point. We are not opposing the national spatial strategy. We are opposing the way it is framed and adopted. It does not have the endorsement of the Oireachtas and under this new Bill that measure can materially affect every local city and county development plan throughout this country at the whim of a Minister of the day.