Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 14:

In page 16, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following:"(6) That the Planning Authority would be required to hold a formal council meeting with their local authority elected members to brief them on a strategic housing development planning application in advance of its submission to An Bord Pleanála.".

I will be brief. The process outlined in the amendment is already happening, in that members are briefed on some applications, taken through the drawings, told the rationale, etc. A memo is taken by the planner in question. I can speak for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, the local authority with which I am familiar. The suggestion is that minutes will be taken, but a council meeting of 40 members could last for hours. How can the remarks of 40 people about different matters be represented? The minutes must be approved at a further council meeting. Many councils amend the minutes. There is a great deal of debate. Some councils are not even getting their ordinary business done. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council's elected members have not been able to debate a motion or their own business in the council chamber for 12 months. That is extraordinary, but it is a fact. Councillors can be briefed on applications and those with an interest can make written submissions to the board.

There are two elements to this. The Minister must tick a few boxes in terms of openness and transparency. The amendment requires a statutory "council meeting" because many modern local authority meetings are webcast. There is a public gallery and members of the public can attend and see the craft of politics, with elected representatives on the floor teasing out the issues. That would be open and transparent. The local and national media are allowed into every council meeting. There would be oversight mechanisms for the public and people could engage in the process. The Minister needs to strengthen oversight in this legislation, because that is one of its weaknesses. We should increase the ability of elected members to do their work. I will await the Minister's response on this matter and I am mindful of what he said about fees, but surely he could tell us what he is thinking about the latter. He does not have to be tied to the idea. Come on. Get real. He is talking about engagement at one level and-----