Denis Landy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

The proposal will have no benefit. According to figures from a recent survey undertaken by Fingal County Council, there was no lack of applications or delay in issuing decisions. From January to August of 2016, there was a 16.6% increase in the volume of planning applications compared with 2015. The council received 822 planning applications, of which 758 were deemed valid, and made 850 planning decisions on applications to the end of August, of which 739 were valid and 91% were granted permission. The breakdown of the permissions shows that 83 were for single house construction, 326 were for domestic extensions, 202 were for commercial or retail properties and 40 were for housing developments. Of those 40, seven related to developments in excess of 100 housing units and 24 related to developments of fewer than 20 units. It is not a significant problem in Fingal, which is a major urban area on the fringes of this city.

According to the Irish Planning Institute, allowing applications for the development of more than 100 homes to be made directly to An Bord Pleanála will damage democracy and increase the risk of judicial review. Ms Deirdre Fallon, the institute's president, called it misconceived and stated that the planning process was not holding construction back. Will the Minister reconsider this section of the Bill?

My party is introducing a rent certainty Bill, an issue that the Minister has said is in the Government's pipeline. I call on the Minister to support our Bill because, as he acknowledged, the issue of rent increases is not tackled in the Bill that is currently before us.