Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat. Before responding to the amendments specifically I would like to make a general comment. Pete Seeger said that participation would change the world. One objective of the programme for Government is to move away from linear consultation and towards much more inclusive participation in democratic processes. That is key. As an overarching comment about what we are trying to achieve here, I welcome the comments and observations of all Senators. The points have been well made. There are many ways to be inclusive and take all views on board. Public meetings have been discussed. These can be very linear processes in their own right, without much engagement or active participation. That is due to the methodology local authorities choose to use. They could use participatory techniques to take all views on board and ensure that the quieter voices in the room are heard.

All of those elements are important. As Senator McDowell has rightly suggested, technology is changing and people are moving on. They are engaging in lots of different ways. There are lots of ways to engage people of all ages, including online and on-street surveys. These should all be used to collate information to make for better plans and projects. We heard about this concern in discussions of the BusConnects project. Certain projects are sometimes presented as a fait accompli, with the public offered the choice between two routes or asked which part of a route they do not like. The public is not asked an open-ended question about whether a project should be pursued at all, or alternatively whether something completely different should be done.

We are trying to arrive at a method that is inclusive and participatory. We have to see this as an opportunity. We are trying to achieve the additionality that has been mentioned. Far from stifling consultation or participation, this is about trying to broaden it out. I spent 16 years in local government and I have seen the best and the worst of it. I have seen pre-determined plans and outcomes brought forward with widespread disquiet emerging after the event. This ends up costing everybody and creating conflict. That is not what we want.

We have to respect the role of elected members.The elected member's role is paramount in any process but it is equally important that people feel their voice is heard and included. That is what we are trying to achieve with this. I take on board the points made with Senator Boyhan's amendments but I want to give an assurance that what we are trying to achieve is quite the opposite. It is trying to broaden out an inclusive participation in our democratic processes. I say that too for the lesser-heard voices of young people, marginalised groups and Travellers, who sometimes do not have access to those facilities. Local authorities can interpret that in a broad way to try to make sure all voices are heard. That is a general comment I wish to make.

I will go through the specific amendments.I will address amendment No. 2, which is a Government amendment, and Opposition amendments Nos. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 12, which have been grouped together by the Bills Office. Amendment No. 2 was flagged to the House by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy O'Brien, in his Second Stage speech last week and is being proposed following a submission by my colleague in government, the Minister, Deputy Ryan, as raised by Deputy Matthews, chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage. It is a minor amendment, which will clarify, for the avoidance of doubt, that the planning authority would always be required to carry out some form of public meeting under section 11(3)(b) of the Planning and Development Act in respect of a proposed development plan, either with a public meeting attended in person or an online public meeting.

Amendments Nos. 1, 3 to 6, inclusive, and 12 each seek by various means to instigate that a mandatory public meeting be held at this stage of the development plan preparation process by the planning authority. More specifically, amendments Nos. 1, 2, 6 and 12 propose that the provisions only apply during the emergency period. While I understand the intention behind the proposed changes, I must reject these amendments. Section 11(3) of the Planning and Development Act relates specifically to the initial pre-draft stage of the development plan preparation process. It is conducted before a draft plan has been prepared and can be described as the stage when the initial relevant issues and topics are identified for further, more detailed, consideration in the subsequent planning process - the issues paper, as we call it.

In the traditional public meeting format, not everyone wishes to speak and those that do often seek to dominate the meeting with specific interest issues only, even though this meeting relates to the phase before a detailed draft plan is produced. It is also the case that there is no mechanism or obligation for what is said at a public meeting to be taken on board, as submissions need to be made in writing through completing a questionnaire or some form of feedback. The public meeting at this stage, therefore, works best in small group or even one-to-one format, facilitated by planning authority officials who understand the process.

This format should continue as an option but it is also compatible with online facilitation. Increasingly, local authorities are moving to online platforms for a public display of information with presentations that may be pre-recorded as well as capacity for online receipt of written submissions. This has facilitated citizens to participate in processes from their own homes and at a time of their own choosing. It also serves to generate written submissions that can be properly recorded and reviewed by the planning authority. This particularly facilitates those who may otherwise be excluded from attending a public meeting or for whom it may be inconvenient as a result of disability, caring responsibilities, employment or some other commitment. While every effort is made to hold multiple meetings at different times of the day, evening and week in accessible venues to ensure as many people as possible have the opportunity to attend, this can only serve to dilute what tends to be a limited audience to consider the pre-draft issues at this stage of the development plan process.

The experience has been that people are more willing to engage remotely in online processes and such experience has accelerated as a result of Covid-19 considerations. It is, therefore, considered appropriate that it should be an option for some or all of the early-stage public consultation stage of a development plan process to be facilitated to take place either online or in person and to extend this beyond the current Covid-19 pandemic, with such decisions to be made locally. This does not rule out public meetings or some combination of a meeting and an online engagement; rather, it allows for greater focus, efficiency and flexibility to encourage increased public participation in the development plan process.