Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. This is important legislation and I hope it will receive the urgent passing it needs. It will create at least one extra reserve function for councillors, which is welcome.

The legislation gives a 12-month extension to both commercial and domestic planning applications that are live and that is only fair. Many people have found themselves in difficult and precarious situations as a result of the pandemic.

I agree with suggestions made by Senator Keogan and others about providing some sort of resource to allow councillors to retain independent legal and planning advice. The suite of supports that should be available to councillors should include being able to get expert independent advice on the work they do on a county development plan. That advice would touch on legal, engineering and architectural areas, and on special planning in general. Some sort of a system will have to brought in whereby councillors are receiving independent advice and we should look at that.

I welcome what is being done in terms of dealing with the issue of councillors' pay, led by the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, and the Minister. However, other supports are needed. New councillors, in particular, find it can be intimidating to deal with county development plans. If that type of advice were available, it should be looked at.

I know the Minister is committed to local government and I hope, during his term in office, we will see many more Executive functions become reserve functions. When we give councillors more reserve functions, they have always used them effectively and responsibly, and I want to see more of that as we continue to reform local government.I want to see more localised democracy and the county councils, which have the mandate of the people, having a great deal more power.