Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State's commitment to re-examine the Fine Gael amendments and come back to us on them on Report Stage.

As regards the deletion of the word "substantial", the Minister of State will agree that the history of some developers, in terms of works carried out by them in other jurisdictions, must be taken into account. How does a local authority obtain this information? We all know in respect of planning permission that it comes down to the view of a particular planner and that there can be many interpretations in this regard. A window overlooking a property could in one person's opinion represent a serious breach of planning law but not in that of another person. Would this be considered a substantial breach?

We are all aware that some planners can hold grievances against developers. Will it be the chief planner or county development manager who will put the brakes on a developer having previously been involved in an unauthorised development? With whom will the buck stop in this regard? I am sure the county manager as chief planning officer will be the person with whom the buck stops in regard to the refusal of permission to a person who on a previous occasion carried out an unauthorised development.