Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

That is very disappointing. I put three county development plans through my hands and worked very hard on them. I am aware of members of the Green Party who put up advertisements and plastic signs on poles all over the community for their own major public meetings, as is their entitlement. They were very good meetings. As for this suggestion again that somehow, people would interrupt or hijack, one should not forget that citizens of this country have the right to gather anywhere and engage and communicate. The Constitution provides for that. I have been at loads of meetings.

I have worked on three county development plans and have never experienced a situation where people came hijacked them. All of this was perfect under the last Fine Gael-Fianna Fáil confidence and supply Administration. That Government did not seek to change it once. Those parties participated in public meetings. The Green Party comes in, the third leg of the stool of this new coalition Government, and somehow the others want to throw the Green Party under the bus by coming into the House to advocate against citizens' statutory rights. I thank the Library and Research Service. It is good that I have its document to hand and I can quote it line for line. The Green Party's website notes a commitment to the Aarhus Convention. I mean no disrespect to the Minster of State, as I acknowledge and appreciate him and have worked well with him, but he has been provided with a script which suggests that it cannot work now. It has worked for years. The Minister of State told the House he was 16 years a councillor - he will be familiar with consultation. I have spoken to the chief executives of local authorities. Who is asking the Minister of State or the Department to make a case to close down public meetings? I understand and respect that might have to happen during an emergency, such as the Covid emergency or other unforeseen ones. I respect that and we have to mind people, public health and the well-being of our community, including those facilitating the meetings and the members of the public attending them.

Now, however, the Green Party in government is going to block that. It proposes to put on a statutory basis that one will not be able to have public meetings. The Minister of State is making a subtle definition about public meetings being online. He spoke of members of the community on the fringes who might have educational disadvantage, younger people, older people or people who do not have access to technology. They are on the fringes, marginalised and pushed out of the process. I do not see why we cannot have both. The Government can embrace all the technology it likes but also retain the old, traditional town hall meetings. At the beginning, in case there is any doubt, I spoke of the need to have meetings attended by professional planners, with charts, infographics and so on. I have experience of these meetings; I am speaking as someone who has had experience of this process. The Minister of State has stated he will not support an amendment. I know that Government parties have to compromise, I have heard that time and again about how being in government means not getting it all one's own way. I understand the political game and the price one must pay to sit around the Cabinet table, to make decisions at Government. I am also a pragmatist and a politician but I do not believe it is possible to sell out on very significant issues of communication in respect of allowing people to come to well organised, well informed public meetings in the public town hall to go through plans and have them explained.

Ultimately, the Minister of State has made a decision. I respect that and I respect him.I will not be in a position to support the Government amendment. Therefore, to be consistent with my approach and with the many city and county councillors to whom I have spoken in recent days, many of whom are tuned in to these proceedings, I will be forced to vote against the Bill. I will use my time over the next few days to strongly lobby the Members of Dáil Éireann because this Bill has been initiated in Seanad Éireann and it will go to the Dáil. I will use my influence, and any contacts I have, with county councillors over the next few days and ask them to do likewise. The Minister of State cannot argue the principle of public engagement, empowering our citizens, the Aarhus Convention and rights to access and engagement about the proper planning and sustainable development of our communities, villages, towns and cities, if at the same time he is going to back a proposal clearly set out in the legislation which would give the chief executives of councils, non-elected members - I respect them but they are not elected - the power to decide not to have public meetings. I want to set out my position on it because it is important that I do so. I do not know how the Minister of State will square that circle and box that off with the members of his party but that is not a job I have to do. However, I will engage with them, particularly with the just transition group within the Green Party who are very conscious of what is happening here today.