Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 41 was tabled by Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill. We outlined the case in this regard quite strongly here on the day, and last week in the Dáil we went over the need not to have this amendment and over how it would affect the Bill if adopted. The Bill as drafted already provides that any draft of a revised or new framework must be submitted for the approval of both Houses of the Oireachtas rather than a vote. This is a sufficient and indeed appropriate provision in this regard. It is also important to be clear here that the introduction of this amendment would not apply retrospectively to the current framework which has already been adopted and published by the Government for the purposes of section 2 of the Planning and Development Act. The current framework is on a statutory footing afforded by the provisions of existing legislation and would not have been impacted by the introduction of this amendment.

There was a further issue of concern with the proposed amendment. Introducing it would have placed new and onerous statutory obligations on the Oireachtas relating to complying with European environmental law. This is because the amendment would have had the effect of making Dáil Éireann the designated competent authority for the purposes of considering and approving the environmental report under the strategic environmental assessment directive and appropriate assessment under the habitats directive. We did speak on that on the day. I went through it in detail and asked Members to understand that they could consult with the Department if they wanted to get a bit more information. I am conscious that quite a few Members did do that and they got some advice and direction in that regard. It would be quite a serious thing if the Dáil also became the responsible authority for those matters. It is not as straightforward as having a final vote. Members might reflect on that.

The amendments also propose that the framework be subject to an annual review. As a long-term strategy the national planning framework is not readily amenable to annual review. This Bill already provides that the national planning framework will be reviewed every six years, which is a more meaningful timeline, particularly for data gathering and analysis of outcomes. Another aspect of these amendments was based on a misunderstanding of the legislative meaning of an appropriate assessment report, which is wholly separate from the public spending code. Consequently to have linked the two in legislation, as was proposed, based on an entirely erroneous assumption would have been a serious mistake. Again I ask Members to accept the decision of the Dáil on these amendments.