Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will speak briefly on the amendment and then say how it stands. I recognise and appreciate the Minister's engagement. In his contribution he moved somewhat ahead to amendment No. 4, which we will discuss later and which addresses the consequences for those who seek planning permission under these measures. I appreciate the Minister's willingness to engage on that amendment and hope that will expedite our discussion about it.

Amendment No. 1 does not look to the future regarding those who access planning permission through this new process. It urges us to use this moment, that is, the legislative moment and opportunity when the cards are in the hands of politicians - it is for politicians to decide - to leverage some action on the part of those who may, as the Minister has so eloquently described, be waiting for an ideal level of profit and may have a site that is financially viable for a builder but are waiting for it to give a greater level of return. While there are measures for the future in amendment No. 4, to address current speculative land holding, I urge the House to use this moment.

The Minister raised the danger of politicians deciding viability. I suggest there is also a great danger if we leave it solely to the market to decide viability. If we do so, the fact is that profit, be it for a speculative fund that may never have set foot in Ireland and may never have any intention of doing so or for anyone else, will be explicitly the main determining factor. We need a balance in this regard, and I urge the Minister to work with us to find it.

A valid concern was expressed that the outstanding planning permission might be in another part of the country. Perhaps the Bill could be amended to look to where there is outstanding planning permission on viable sites in the same local authority area where the new fast-tracked planning permission is sought, using whatever definition we have for viable sites, and there are objective considerations we can bring in to determine that. Such a constraint would ensure it is not a matter of whether it is located in a greenfield site that was bought at a certain point but that we are talking about building houses to address the same identified needs in the same identified areas that we are trying to target through this strategic development. That is maybe a narrowing of our proposal which would give it a much more targeted focus. It does not serve anybody if there are sites for which planning permission has been granted in areas that are strategically important and where people want to live but which sites are still taken out of the picture, and I think the Minister knows that. We are happy to withdraw the amendment at this point but we reserve the right to reintroduce it on Report Stage.While we reserve the right to reintroduce it on Report Stage, we also hope to have an opportunity to work constructively with the Minister and others across the House to tease out and take responsibility for the decisions we make, as politicians, to ensure the best possible outcomes, not for one particular industry but for citizens. Rather than press the amendment, we will reserve the right to reintroduce it on Report Stage and move forward on this matter. I look forward to speaking to the Minister on amendment No. 4.