Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this important matter and I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke. I know this is a busy week for him in the context of the budget and his other ministerial commitments.

I will preface my remarks by saying that this matter relates to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. I engaged in the council's county development public consultation process as a citizen. While I am here today as a politician talking about legislation and potential anomalies in the legislation, I want to share my experience as a citizen who engaged with a public consultation relating to the city and county development plan process. The latter is an important process for which the Minister of State has ultimate responsibility. I put on record my admiration for the professional way in which Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s chief executive and elected members conduct their business. They take it seriously. One of the most important functions of elected city or county councils is the reserved function relating to mapping out the proper planning and sustainable development of their administrative areas for a period of five years. We know that work is ongoing on development plans across the country. We are talking about development plans that will come into operation in 2022.

The background to this is that I have been in touch with the Minster of State’s Department in respect of this matter before. I am somewhat surprised that it has become an issue at this stage and I am somewhat disappointed that it has not been resolved. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has stated that there is a conflict between two interrelated sections of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. The sections are section 12(3), which sets out statutory timeframes for the addition of and-or deletion from the record of protected structures, and section 12(7), which sets out statutory timeframes associated with the material alteration stage of the county development plan-making process. That is the advice being given by the professionals to the elected members of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in respect of the current stage of the development plan process, namely, the stage to which I am referring.

I served as a member of the council for many years. As a citizen and as a someone who has a particular interest in architectural conservation and protected structures, I chose one building to focus on. The council described it as a Gothic, red-bricked, granite chapel in Tivoli Terrace in south County Dublin to be added to the record of protected structures.It fitted all the criteria, as the Minister of State will be aware, of which there are five or six including heritage, architectural, scientific significance, and the chief executive, in her report to the elected members, suggested that it might very well cover some of the criteria. That is not in dispute.

I am only one person and I am doing this on behalf of many other citizens. Yesterday I received a print off of all people who made submissions to this county development plan process. This is about what members of the public, who engaged in a public consultation process, are being told by the manager. She says that there is a conflict in the legislation and she will not be in a position to allow the elected members of this local authority to consider them further. She says the only way of doing this is by varying the plan. They have not even agreed this plan and they are being told five more years. Where does that leave Johnny the citizen - me, a member of the public who submitted in good faith and engaged in the public consultation process - for a building to be added to the record of protected structures? There is either an anomaly or there is a misunderstanding but there needs to be greater clarity on this issue and I would welcome the Minister of State's response.