Mark Dearey (Green Party)

We have a lot of work to get through this afternoon. I welcome the Minister of State and the technical amendments made. I listened carefully to the Senators opposite and believe we will find common ground on many issues, including the need for sustainable planning and development. Senator Ellis's understatement on there being a need for some tidying up will probably prove to be below the mark later in the day.

The many amendments made are to be welcomed. They will remove a lot of unnecessary demands from councillors, not by way of taking power from them but by giving them a much clearer direction on what is possible. It is most unsatisfactory that the legislation in place is such that a planning decision need only have reference to higher planning documents within the cascade of planning. That this has been the case has left me and other Senators who have acted as county councillors open to undue pressure at times. In many cases throughout the country the existing legislation has caused poor decisions to be made that may have satisfied some short-term need but which have left communities with a legacy of planning problems in the longer term.

As the Bill begins to be understood more broadly, its key themes will be accepted as realistic and inform a realistic assessment of the position in which poor planning has placed us. The Bill is so important because of the role of bad planning in contributing to the bust we are experiencing.