Niall Ó Brolcháin (Green Party)

I am trying to make the point that it can be difficult for new councillors because they are not properly trained when it comes to planning. In the Oireachtas a Minister is somebody who has gained a great deal of experience, but insufficient training is provided for councillors. I know of cases in which individual councillors are making serious decisions without understanding the implications. They are going along with the crowd, so to speak. We had a situation in Galway city where eight new councillors dealt with a development plan from day one. That presents a problem. There must be adequate guidelines in place and sufficient training provided. We must take planning seriously.

The issue of one-off rural houses is a red herring. Having proper local area and city development plans, proper regional plans and a proper national spatial strategy working in tandem with each other is the way to go and there is no reason this cannot happen. There is no reason development cannot proceed within that context.