Pat Casey (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We must acknowledge what the Minister has done here. This Bill restores local democracy. It restores decision making to a local level. That must be acknowledged. We are restoring the county development plan adopted by the council and we are asking the professional planners to understand that and to make sure that their decisions conform with the local county development plans. An Bord Pleanála, with its specialist crew, does not have local knowledge. The people we are speaking about are local planners who, more than likely, will be living in the areas, interacting with the community groups we all recognise and understanding the local issues. That is important.

I am not 100% sure of this but I do not think the Minister is in a position to accept the amendments. The legislation triggers an official mechanism with regard to how each local authority member is informed that an application has been made for a large-scale residential development. Under the legislation, members have to be informed that an application has been made. It is because of the work and campaigning of Senator Boyhan over many years that councillors can now make an observation and offer their views on planning applications in this space free of charge. I fully understand the points the Senator makes and I have a lot of sympathy for his argument. However, the legislation makes provision for a councillor to be informed that an application has been made in his or her area. Following on from the good work of Senator Boyhan, such councillors can now make an observation free of charge on that planning application, when submitted. The planner in making a final decision must take cognisance in his or her report of the submission made by that councillor. While that does not go all the way in terms of what is being sought, it must be acknowledged that this legislation restores local democracy. It restores decision-making to a local authority area and provides an option for local councillors to make submissions in regard to each application which, thanks to the work of Senator Boyhan, they can do free of charge.