Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

That is great, I am happy to do that. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, to the House. This is an issue that will be of enormous interest to him.

I am opposed to the Government amendment No. 2. It is not over very much, it is all about "and" and "or". I believe that we should continue to have public consultation. It should remain a statutory situation, as it currently is. I am very conscious of the difference between executive and reserved functions. I am also very conscious that in the first part of the draft of any county development, city or county, it is a matter for the chief executive. It is the executive's plan until such time as it goes to the elected members of the city or county council, at which time they make amendments. It then goes on to public display and it shifts to the reserved functions.

The Planning and Development Bill 2020 is relatively short and concise. It was drafted as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Bill allows certain prescribed emergency periods to be disregarded when calculating relevant periods of time under which the building control and planning and development legislation, including the relevant statutory instruments, are implemented. The Bill also replaces the mandatory requirement on city and county council executives to hold public meetings about proposed city and council development plans, with an obligation for planning authorities to consult with and to invite written submissions from members of the pubic on the proposed development plan.I refer to the amendment of section 11 of the principal Act. Section 2 of the Bill would substitute a new section 11(3)(b) for the existing provisions of the 2000 Act. The current provisions state that the planning authority "shall hold public meetings and seek written submissions regarding all or any aspect of the proposed development plan and may invite oral submissions" from the public. The new position would provide the planning authority with more discretion.

Under the new paragraph, the planning authority would only be required to "consult with members of the public in such manner (which may include the holding of a public meeting) as it considers appropriate". The ambiguity in that concerns me. Who will be the planning authority at the particular time that these decisions are being made? We should remember that this is the executive and not the elected members. That is an important point to make. The authority would, the paragraph continues, "invite submissions in writing from members of the public, in relation to a proposed development plan". The new paragraph would retain the discretion to invite oral submissions from the public and I welcome that. Making a variation of a development plan under sections 9, 12 and 13 of the 2000 Act is a reserved function of the elected members, as the Minister of State well knows, which falls to the elected city and county councillors, as provided for in sections 131 and 131A and Part 3 of Schedule 14A of the Local Government Act 2001, as amended.

However, I accept the preparation of the draft development plan under section 11 of the 2000 Act is a function of the council chief executives and their executive team. Therefore, it would be the executive that would determine the consultation method appropriate in the circumstances and that is as it is. Although the legislation is aimed at limiting the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic - I fully recognise the importance of that and how it will impact on the planning process - the provision is not time or event limited. In simple terms, there is no sunset clause. We are dealing with what is emergency legislation and I understand and accept the need for it. Embedded in this emergency legislation, however, is this permanent little arrangement, as it was described in the House the other day, which would empower the executives, not the city and county councillors, to decide in a manner that they consider befitting and appropriate. They should not have that discretion.

I have spoken to a number of city and county councillors from all parties and none. I have been active in this area and I am greatly encouraged by their engagement in this process. Let us not put a block or stop to engagement in a planning process. I am all in favour of new methods of communication such as Facebook, Instagram and any possible IT solutions, of which more will come down the track. However, I also recognise the importance of face-to-face contact with people and personal engagement with the citizens that city and county councillors and Deputies represent. My experience of being a member of a council for many years is that Deputies, Senators and city and county councillors welcomed, engaged and participated and they met face-to-face with their people and communities. This healthy and important process should be retained. I am not against anything the Minister of State or the Department are trying to do. I just want to be sure there is no doubt or ambiguity in statute about the concept of public engagement.

I accept the preparations of the draft development plan under section 11 of the 2000 Act is an executive function, as I have already said. Although the legislation is aimed at limiting the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the planning process, the provision is not time or event limited. It would involved a "permanent change", as the Minister of State, Deputy English, told the House last week, in what is emergency legislation. I suggest to the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, who has come with strong credentials in the areas of public engagement and planning and environmental matters, that this would not sit comfortably with him. That is important and we need to consult the public.

With the widespread availability of modern communication technology, online consultation techniques can help to increase the public's understanding and the quality of its participation in city, county and local development plans.It is important we keep this process as open as possible and we encourage people of all ages, backgrounds and traditions, whether advantaged or disadvantaged, engaged and involved. Some councils have fewer than 100 people engaged in their development plans. Other city and county councils have thousands - is that not wonderful - engaging in future planning and development, shaping the outcomes of their communities for the next five and six years. Participation is a keyword in that and we need to assist everyone in that.

Online consultations can complement face-to-face public meetings and hearings. I want to make it clear that I will not be part of any legislation that curtails public engagement. I want it backed up by assurances that it is imbedded into the statutory planning and development process. There can be no doubt or discretion about this. No executive member, Minister or anyone else can say we are going to curtail our citizens in engaging in their city and county development plans.

This morning, I looked at the explanatory and financial memorandum attached to the Bill. I noted it stated, "The urgent requirement for this proposal is to avoid barriers [that is the word used in this document drawn up the Department] to progressing development plans during the pandemic, in the event of any current or future temporary prohibition on holding public meetings, by allowing the planning authority to take steps it deems necessary (such as public/ newspaper notices, online communication, and which may include the holding of a public meeting)...". Again, it is the same repeated message, that is, that it may include a holding of a public meeting with the citizens, the very people who own this plan. It is an extraordinary proposal at a time of a coalition Government where there are different backgrounds, experiences and knowledge. All three parties have enormous experience with county councils around the country. I do not know where this has all got lost in translation or who thought all this up. It is an extraordinary proposition and unacceptable proposal to imbed into legislation.

The Minister of State will be aware of compliance with the obligations and the principles of the Aarhus Convention. He knows what it states about engaging with the citizens and the right to environmental information. The development plan is more than the built environment. It is also about the natural environment, zonings, marine planning, the mountains, public spaces, the public realm, the arts and heritage for which the Minister of State has a responsibility. Somehow in this legislation, however, the Government proposes to give non-elected executives, over and above elected city and county councillors, a discretion not to have a public meeting.

In line with the principles of the Aarhus Convention on Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, as well as to be fully in compliance with the principles of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, I urge the Minister of State to retain a statutory obligation for city and county councillors, along with their executives, to hold public meetings with regard to their development plans.

I have made my point. I do not think I am having any difficulty in terms of getting people on board. Mistakes and bad judgments can happen. This measure only involves the words "and" and "if". I agree with the Minister of State about embracing technology. I agree with him about reforming the planning process and tapping into new ways of communication. I have no difficulty with all of that. However, I also want face-to-face meetings in our town halls, in the heart of local democracy and our communities, at which ordinary men, women and, for that matter, children can engage.I was a member of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and we engaged with young people, schools and sports clubs. We asked them to come in and let us have their views, and this is important.

I accept that the proposed amendment is aimed at limiting the effects of Covid on the planning process. My concerns are about the provisions the Minister of State has made in the Bill. I have serious reservations about the Bill, as I have said, but I believe they can be addressed. It is quite simple. I do not think we are that far apart. Somehow we have got lost in the communication. I am happy to support the Bill in its entirety because I recognise its importance and significance. I recognise its need in the Covid situation but I cannot support a suggestion that after Covid we empower chief executives of local authorities, for whom I have much respect, to use their discretion to have or not have public engagement on city and county development plans. I hope the Minister of State will bring this back to his colleagues in the Department. I hope we can row back on it. There are no winners or losers here. It is the right thing to do and I ask the Minister of State to support.