Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday we had a very interesting engagement in this House with three Galway Senators all sitting along the same bench, which was interesting in itself, as was the dynamic of the debate. The issue was about engagement. Senator Pauline O'Reilly talked about Galway and the bypass road. What provoked me to think more about it was that I saw "Oireachtas Report" last night and An Taoiseach engaging in the Dáil Chamber on people's record of objections. We need to clarify this once and for all.

In today's edition of TheIrish Timesthere are two major stories. In one, Project East Meath Limited is pursuing a planning issue through the High Court. Then there is a story about Drogheda SouthGate Shopping Centre. Then we have Balbriggan Community Council seeking to overturn approval for 95 apartments. Then we had Government Members opposing wind energy in County Clare. I make the point that they are entitled to do that. Today's edition of The Irish Timescarries another story of a Cork city apartment scheme on Lower Friars Walk, which five county councillors are opposing. I agree that they have a right to engage. I support that absolutely. By the way, the opposition comes from all political parties and none.On one hand, we are hearing some criticism of people engaging. All of us are representatives. We represent communities. I sound a note of caution. The Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, is coming to the House with legislation and I fully accept that. I am supportive of reform of the planning process in terms of making it faster but I am not in support of anything that would curtail the right of our citizens or elected representatives to make representations regarding planning. There is a subtle difference. We want a faster process but there is a mood out there that citizens, Deputies, Senators and city and county councillors are somehow objecting to housing for the sake of it so we need to be clear about it. I went to the trouble of looking on the board and saw that various Government Ministers are putting in objections. I have no problem with that either. We need to be clear. We do not need to talk out of both sides of our mouths. The point I am trying to make is that we must enable and encourage our citizens to participate in the planning process. I look forward to the new legislation but the focus must be on a faster system. We must have due regard for everyone's opinion.