Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is very versatile. I presume she is representing the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage as she will now discuss protected structures. I will keep my comments sweet and short.

My Commencement matter concerns Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, which is one of 31 local authorities in the country, and the designation of structures in terms of the record of protected structures. Each local authority is obliged to keep an inventory or record of protected structures for councils and the designation of the record of protected structures is a reserved function.

There is some concern. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is in the process of developing a county development plan. The chief executive has prepared her draft and it was sent to the elected members for consideration. I understand that they have submitted a substantial number of motions that will be debated next week and will discuss, among other things, some proposed record of protected structures. There is conflicting advice around these local authorities and there is some concern by prescribed bodies like An Taisce and other heritage groups. There is concern among politicians and some citizens about when to interface or interplay with the local authority on proposals for additions to the record of protected structures. There is also an issue concerning deletions.

I am aware that the Minister of State's county of Galway is currently considering protected structures. I did not know beforehand that she would be here today but I can now tell her that I spoke to the chief executive of Galway County Council the other day and that the county council is considering the addition of protected structures not as part of its review of the county development plan but as part of its current plan. I believe, and I have always understood, that one can seek a variation of one's county development plan through a public consultation process that is advertised in newspapers suggesting that one would add something. The process includes consultation with the owners and the conservation office. The pros and cons are explained to the owners and they must be given a reasonable amount of time to consider the structural issues. The chief executive then supplies a report based on professional advice to the elected members and, ultimately, the elected members see and consider that advice before making a decision. So it is ultimately a reserved function.

I have outlined one way and I believe that Galway County Council is doing it the correct way. Other councils suggest that it is not and call it a county development process. What does that mean? A county development plan occurs every five or six years so it is rubbish to suggest that one can only add or delete structures every five years.We can only add or delete structures every five years. That is rubbish. A building in Portumna could come to the attention of the Minister of State tomorrow which she might raise with councillors and they might consider. If there is a crisis, it may need protection. On the other hand, it could be necessary to make deletions. There are buildings that may not or should not be recorded as protected structures for various reasons. They have been listed because vexatious individuals want to block development. That is not right either. I want clarity on the process. I ask the Minister of State to bring back to the Minister the concern of elected members and the executive of the council and the need for strong guidelines in regard to each of their roles in regard to this process. I look forward to hearing the Minister of State's reply.