Pat Casey (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I served on a local authority for 12 years and I believe in local democracy. The Minister would not bring this legislation to the House if there was not good reason for it, and we must take that into account. There is nothing to prevent councillors providing and approving a housing scheme before the LDA even gets involved in it because the Minister has given members and administrations the tools to bring whatever housing proposals they have, and he will support them. Put the onus back on the local authorities. The Minister has given them the tools to build housing on the land, so let them get in ahead. The LDA will not be needed if the administration and councillors act in advance.

It is equally wrong to say the LDA will not understand the community need and the local need. It is my understanding that it will have to go through the planning process like anyone else. It will have to conform to local area plans and county development plans, with all the criteria in respect of schools, playgrounds and open spaces. They are all included in the plans and it is up to a planning authority to make that decision based on them. It is members who adopt local area plans and county development plans. The Minister has probably given more powers back to local authority members than anybody else has. Only recently, he gave power to local authority members to suspend the county development plan process in order that proper public consultation could take place.

This is not the Minister's preferred option - it is not my preferred option - but at the end of the day, there is a reason it is included in the Bill. We need to get housing built on key land.