Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will read out a technical response first and then respond to each of the issues that have been raised. I will first address amendment No. 6 as jointly tabled by Senators Higgins, Ruane and Black. While I recognise that this amendment is well intentioned, I cannot accept it. Planning authorities routinely conduct public consultation exercises, inviting submissions from the public across a wide range of functions and areas of responsibility and have demonstrated the required capacity to undertake such important engagement activities in a transparent and equitable manner. The amendment suggests that there is or has been a restriction operated by the local authorities to seek to limit the extent or length of submissions made by the public. I am absolutely not aware of any such approach by a planning authority and do not believe the amendment is warranted or necessary when considered in light of the well-established practices that are currently operated in this regard.

I will now address the issues raised by Senators.First of all, as I pointed out very clearly, from pre-draft to draft, if there are material changes and a manager's report again at the final stage, public consultations, meetings, officials going out to brief members of the public or agencies like our chambers of commerce, our youth agencies, and public participation networks, that all happens through the county development plan process. Not one part of that is required by regulation or under statute, so why does it happen? It happens because our local authorities want to reach out and want public engagement, because it creates a better environment and locality for us all to live in, and it is beneficial to our citizens. It is a fact that we want engagement.

In response to Senator Moynihan's point, this concerns pre-draft stage, not draft stage, so issues can be introduced. It is about seeking permission to initiate the process. Nobody can come into a meeting at this stage and ask for a field to be zoned or a school to be built in a particular area. It is strategic and it is about high-level issues and helping areas to grow. A local authority is not prohibited from having a public meeting or an online meeting. It is very clear in the Bill that it is up to the local authority to decide whether to have a public meeting or an online meeting. However, it must have a public meeting, whether it is online or in public, and that is key. What is most beneficial for the local authority and the citizens in terms of conducting business and getting the most effective response should be done. I want to bury the rumour that public meetings are being stopped, because they absolutely are not. As someone who has been a cathaoirleach of a local authority through the county development plan process, I have seen at first hand the length that officials and councillors go to to brief the public and to work with them to get the best possible outcome. The greater the engagement in a county development plan, the greater the reach out to our citizens and the better the result. That is what we all want to achieve.