Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I, too, thank the Minister of State. I note that there have been no approvals under the fast-tracking system, despite the provision being put through in legislation last December. It is a slow process. One of the big difficulties with the policy document Rebuilding Ireland and planning is keeping track of statistics. Every time one asks a question one is given different figures. Interestingly, on this very day I received a letter, dated 15 November, from An Bord Pleanála about six kerbside car parking spaces. The board wrote: "It will not be possible to determine the case within the statutory objective period due to capacity constraints at Board level". The six car parking spaces in south County Dublin are not critical infrastructure and clearly not a priority, but the board is under enormous pressure because of the lack of resources. We need to keep key indicators and regular statistics online for its performance.

The Minister of State represents a rural constituency. Rural communities must have as quickly as possible the right to access planning systems and lodge objections. A professional system must be put in place. It is not appropriate that somebody from Kilkenny, Carlow, Cork or County Donegal must travel by bus to Marlborough Street in Dublin to look at a drawing or a visual of a planning proposal planned for next door to his or her home. As soon as we have this facility online and it is available in public libraries, public spaces and county halls the better because people need to access this information quickly.