Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Chambers for agreeing to share her time with me. I thank the Minister for being here, for listening to the positions we are putting to him and for the legislation itself. It is really important because the county development plan and indeed the local area plans are the blueprints for how we live our lives into future as they look at both the economic and the social side of how people live their lives. Building sustainable communities is hugely important in the sense of having a balance of residential development and of course supporting enterprise and business, in addition to ensuring we have sufficient zoned and appropriate land for schools, educational facilities, childcare and leisure and amenity.

Extending the deadlines on this as a reaction to Covid is very important for two different reasons. One is that the consultation, which has already been mentioned, is hugely important. People’s views must be borne in mind. Elected councillors must have the opportunity to have informal consultation as well as formal consultation. Covid has also changed how we live our lives, particularly regarding the whole area of rural planning. Many people have now seen that they do not have to be in their cars or on public transport very early in the morning and very late in the evening. People have also seen they do not have to live in a city centre, that they can live close to their families and communities and have the type of intergenerational support that is needed. As such, I really hope the Minister takes this on board in the context of ensuring county and local area development plans accommodate relaxation in relation to rural and one-off housing.

Traffic management is really important to county plans. An example of this we have spoken about before is the need in Newbridge for a second bridge. When I am coming to work in the morning it takes an extra 25 minutes because we only have the one bridge. We absolutely must have issues like that addressed. We must also look at quotas for different areas. At the moment, County Kildare has a proliferation of quarries, and a large quarry got permission from An Bord Pleanála during the week. The Department should look at a situation whereby there is a balance between these much-needed facilities such that no single county or area has an overexposure to developments which have a big impact on people’s lives.