Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for taking the time to give us so much of the afternoon. I am sorry I missed some of the other contributions and I am conscious that Senator Hayden has significant expertise in this area. I have been involved in the auctioneering business in recent years, a profession which, along with the developers, has contributed to the problems we have had in overheating the economy. It is a fact that the punch bowl was not taken away in time. However, it may be a case of having 20/20 vision in hindsight for many of us. I appreciate the Minister of State's commitment to deal with this issue. The brief point I wish to make was echoed in the newspapers today. Let us consider the number of people on housing lists and the number of people homeless throughout the country. However difficult it may be to bring these issues together, we have a major responsibility to do so and it is one on which we should be focused singularly.

It is clear there is empty housing and apartment stock. While it is difficult to directly retrofit a housing list to a particular estate and so on, I would turn to the academic sector for assistance. Perhaps postgraduate students could suggest how best this could be done. They could be marked for so doing in a contribution towards their educational qualifications, while at the same time gaining solutions to the problem of how best to deal with these estates nationwide, many of which are the subject of receivership at present while others are involved directly with NAMA. An attempt should be made to embrace such an approach.

While I have the Minister of State's attention, I wish to raise another planning-related issue. I note that last April, Wicklow County Council had a discussion in respect of An Bord Pleanála on many issues pertaining to the council's section 140 motions and other planning permissions granted by that county council. I refer to instances that have been replicated throughout the country, whereby An Bord Pleanála's home inspectors recommend the granting of planning permissions that have been appealed, only for them to be overturned by the board. I have a major issue with this practice and had I the money to engage people from the Minister of State's former profession, I would love to test it in the European courts, because I suggest it is unconstitutional for the planning process to operate as it does. This is not to suggest it is desirable for people to build here, there and everywhere but I am sure all Members have files - Senator Comiskey mentioned this issue during the week - concerning such cases. I refer to farmers with children, who have applied for planning permission on lands that initially has been granted by the county council. In such cases, inspectors from An Bord Pleanála have recommended continuation of such grants only for, as a Wicklow county councillor described it, the exercise of faceless elitism by people in ivory towers, who dictate that a stop must be put to it because of ribbon development and their view of how that area should be. While actively considering improvements in this area, Senator Comiskey made a worthwhile recommendation on the regionalisation of An Bord Pleanála and this must be done.

I note the Minister of State's private secretary replied to Wicklow County Council quoting the letter of the law, which to me constitutes government by autopilot. When I was on the Government benches, I regularly criticised the autopilot button that was switched on far too often. Before he gets into the habit of it, I appeal to the Minister of State to turn off the autopilot button and to examine this issue personally. He should avoid falling into the trap from which many members of Government from all parties have suffered. This issue must be dealt with north of a line from Dublin to Galway and west of Mullingar. The people living in that part of the country wish to continue living there. They have a particular culture and I believe it is possible to embrace and allow for that culture, while at the same time ensuring responsible planning guidelines and rules are in place. I ask the Minister of State to consider this matter.

In conclusion, I wish to promote at every opportunity the Family Home Bill 2011, which was published on Tuesday last and which I drafted with Senator Thomas Byrne and others. The Bill has been informed by debates in this House, by the work of Senator Hayden's organisation, of organisations such as New Beginning and the Prevention of Family Home Repossessions group, as well as the media in recent years, in seeking to prevent the repossession of primary family residences. I ask the Minister of State to use his good offices to ensure that when the Whips within the Labour Party and the Government as a whole make a decision on this non-adversarial Bill and the sensible provisions proposed therein, it may be embraced on Second Stage on 27 July 2011 in a non-partisan fashion. I acknowledge that advices could be accepted from the Attorney General's office or amendments tabled by Government parties or Independent Members on Committee Stage. That would be sensible and I would greatly appreciate the Minister of State's co-operation in this regard.