Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

This issue relates to access onto national secondary routes, one of which, the N56, goes through a large part of south-west Donegal. There are other such routes in Galway, Kerry and other parts of the country. There is a distinct difficulty in Donegal for individuals seeking to obtain planning permission for one-off houses along that road, which stretches from Letterkenny in the centre of County Donegal across west Donegal and back to the Five Points in Killybegs. The National Roads Authority, under legislation and the policy direction of the Development Control Advice and Guidelines 1982 and the Policy and Planning Framework for Roads 1985, is objecting to such planning applications. This is creating major difficulties for families and young people who have land along that route.

While the planning section in Donegal County Council, in so far as possible and taking local planning guidelines into consideration, will look sympathetically at all local indigenous applications, there is a major difficulty to be taken into consideration due to the National Roads Authority, NRA, lodging so many planning objections. Many of the objections are filed at local level but the NRA regularly appeals decisions made by the local authority to An Bord Pleanála, which is quite alarming. The issue has been discussed with the National Roads Authority by Donegal County Council. I also had the opportunity to discuss it with the authority. The authority clearly outlined that its hands are tied due to the 1982 and 1985 guidelines.

When I raised this issue 12 months ago in the Seanad, I was advised that the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government had begun discussions with the Department of Transport and was considering developing planning guidelines and perhaps introducing new guidelines on a statutory basis by amending section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000. A working group was due to be established but I am not sure if it has arrived at any conclusive answers. It is a major issue because there is no distinction in the current guidelines between a national primary and a national secondary route. In Donegal, the national primary routes are faster and better roads, while the national secondary routes are almost equivalent to regional roads. A distinction must be made while, of course, taking into consideration the safety implications associated with roads. Indeed, regrettably, there were two road deaths in Donegal in recent weeks which occurred on a regional road.

We hope there will be movement on this issue as it has dragged on for some time. Many young people are waiting to lodge their planning applications. They cannot do so until the guidelines are changed and new guidelines brought forward. Perhaps the Minister will provide an update.