Seanad debates

Wednesday, 23 November 2016

Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed)

 

10:30 am

Photo of Victor BoyhanVictor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I accept that planning decisions are not taken ultimately by councillors. However, this is slightly different because there is no third party appeal mechanism to this process. The Minister talks about a small number of applications, in the region of 50, but this low number of applications will be for a large scale development. I know that developers are lining up to apply for planning permission under this system. The Minister may not realise that the scale of the proposed development will run to 80,000 houses. The Minister will be punch drunk with excitement if this all goes right and I will be the first to join him and say it is great. I believe, however, there is no third party appeal mechanism.

At present, the public come to councillors for a range of reasons. Councillors raise issues during the planning committee meetings, and they are the custodians of the county development plan. I am a former member of a local authority and like most councillors would meet the planners in an open, transparent and formal way at a planning meeting. We would be constantly doing battle to remind the planners of their obligations. Planners do not get all decision right, and neither do councillors or Ministers. We are human and make errors, but as councillors are the custodians of the county development plan, they make the case as representatives of the community. The Minister may not know, but many councillors up and down the country make submissions on planning applications and pay the fee of €20 to the local authority. I can think of four independent councillors in Cork who have taken serious issue with the environmental impact of a planning application and put their hand in their pocket and registered their concern by paying the fee of €20 to appeal the case.

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