Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to introduce this Bill to Seanad Éireann today. I thank the Seanad for facilitating this important and urgent legislation. I acknowledge concerns about the limits on debate time and the fact that the pre-legislative scrutiny report has not been published. However, the urgency of the issues at hand to address the housing crisis requires immediate legislative action. I appreciate the Seanad's assistance in achieving that. I want to set out the background and why such swift actions are needed.

The Bill was part of the An Bord Pleanála reform agenda agreed by the Cabinet on 4 October and then submitted for pre-legislative scrutiny, which commenced on 10 November. For clarity, as was indicated in the letter to the Seanad Leader to facilitate the expedited passage of the Bill, Department officials fully engaged in this pre-legislative process. I indicated to Opposition parties on 22 November that I intended to introduce additional measures in the Bill to expedite the supply of social and affordable housing. However, the pre-legislative scrutiny report has still not been published, which means it would not have been possible to seek and receive Cabinet and Oireachtas approval of the Bill before the Christmas recess. I have made my officials available for briefings, as required, on any aspect of the Bill to ensure every Member is fully informed.

I want to emphasise two points on which we need to move forward quickly that require this urgent approach. The first concerns the immediate need to put in place a new chairperson for An Bord Pleanála to help unlock the planning delays affecting our housing system. Overhauling and reforming An Bord Pleanála to rebuild and restore public trust after a turbulent period and to ensure it can play an efficient and effective role at the apex of our planning system cannot be delayed any further. Second, the pressing need to ramp up supply and address the impact of inflation, higher interest rates and supply-chain issues means we need to take further steps to boost housing delivery. In this light, I am bringing forward accelerated measures to support local authority social and affordable housing delivery through the planning system and by using modern construction methods. I am aware that all Senators understand the urgent need to prioritise the tackling of our housing crisis through all means available. This proposed amendment, subject to Cabinet approval, reflects that.

I will now go through the broad policies underpinning the Bill. Since its establishment in 1977, An Bord Pleanála has become an integral part of the Irish planning system, providing an independent, impartial and objective appeals process, in addition to numerous other functions. The provisions concerning the board of An Bord Pleanála contained in the Bill are necessary to ensure the full functioning of the board to allow it to process its significant workload efficiently.

While the main legislative provisions relating to An Bord Pleanála are being examined in detail as part of the review of planning legislation currently being led by the Attorney General, this Bill deals with certain initial matters requiring immediate action on foot of the action plan for An Bord Pleanála, phase 1, which resulted from the Office of the Planning Regulator's review of An Bord Pleanála and other matters relating to addressing board vacancies and the board's caseload in light of its new marine functions. These new functions include providing for the appointment of a chairperson of An Bord Pleanála, for an interim period, while a permanent chairperson is recruited through open competition; increasing the limit on the overall number of ordinary members of the board to ensure the increasing caseload can be managed and the appropriate quorums and suitable allocation of case files can be assured; expanding the provision to appoint temporary ordinary board members to allow for the appointment of serving or former civil servants, public servants or employees of the board for a term of up to a year; providing for a suitable, independent, objective and transparent procedure by which recommendations may be made to the Minister concerning the recruitment and appointment of ordinary members of the board through an open competitive process; clarifying and streamlining the investigative powers of a new chairperson under section 110; and removing the option for a two-member board quorum so that the minimum quorum will be at least three.

The Bill provides for a new appointment process for board members of An Bord Pleanála through open competition where any member of the public can apply if he or she believes they have the relevant experience or qualifications to serve on the board. This process will replace the outdated panel nomination process with a new structure to replenish the board. The reform of the appointment process for members to the board of An Bord Pleanála is a critical step to ensure board impartiality and transparency and will restore confidence in An Bord Pleanála as the independent planning body that is foundational to the success of the planning system in Ireland.

Part 3 of the Bill introduces an amendment to the definition of "foreshore" to ensure the body of water above the seabed and the subsoil below it are included. The Bill provides that this revised definition should be understood to have always been the definition of "foreshore". It also provides that leases, licences and consents granted and made by the Minister under the 1933 Act that include an area that would not have fallen under the definition of foreshore prior to this amendment shall be understood to be foreshore in accordance with the amended definition. Likewise, applications on hand with the Minister under the Act can be consented to on that basis.It has been always understood since 1933 that the foreshore as described and defined in the Foreshore Act included subsoil, bed and shore, as well as the water column. This is how the State and foreshore users have operated for many decades, with leases and licences applied for and granted on that basis. In the summer of 2022, a developer in the foreshore area raised for the first time, an issue as to whether the water column was indeed included in the definition. The intention of the amendments is to put beyond doubt the State’s authority to regulate the use of this water column. This is particularly important when it comes to developer-led activities that take place solely in the water column and which do not impact the seabed; in order that the State can meet its obligations with respect to range of directives for the protection of the maritime area; and to ensure that there is a coherent consenting process in the maritime area ahead of the commencement of the new regulatory regime provided for under the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021.

I wish to advise that I am working with the Attorney General to develop an amendment to be tabled on Committee Stage to provide in defined circumstances for the accelerated delivery of social or affordable housing on local authority or other State lands that do not require an environment impact assessment, EIA, or an appropriate assessment, AA, for a defined period. The precise criteria underpinning this provision are subject to final technical amendment by the Office of the Attorney General. In essence, the provision would seek to allow for exemption from section 179 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 in strictly defined circumstances where: the land is owned by the local authority or another State body; the land is zoned for housing development; the proposed development is in accordance with the relevant local authority’s housing strategy; the land is serviced or will be serviced within the timeframe of the development; the local authority has regard to the section 28 ministerial planning guidelines on the planning system, flood management, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, guidance and relevant information on monuments and protected structures; and the chief executive has consulted with the elected members and has given public notice of the proposed development.

This measure would be time-bound and is required. We already have planning exemptions in place to facilitate accommodation solutions for the beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine, and we are delighted to be able to help them while the Russian invasion of their country rages on. This proposed planning exemption will enable us to make quicker progress on providing much-needed housing, including for the most vulnerable on our housing waiting lists, while also providing an opportunity to accelerate affordable and cost-rental delivery. The area is complex and the provisions being prepared by the Attorney General will be time-bound provisions subject to Cabinet approval.

Given the short space of time remaining to me, an outline of the sections within the Bill are provided in the copy of my speech I have provided to Senators. The Bill is about moving forward with the reform of appointments to An Bord Pleanála to make sure we have an open and transparent system for appointment of members to the board and to allow the Minister to appoint an interim Chair to the board, which is needed right now. While we continue with the reform agenda for the board, we need the board to be able to function now. The other element, which is very important and which will come by way of amendment on Thursday, is to allow us, on lands that have already been identified as owned by local authorities or by State bodies, to expedite the delivery of social and affordable housing specifically focusing on using modern methods of construction. All of us in this Chamber agree that we have a housing crisis and that we need to ramp up further delivery. Although we will deliver more than 10,000 social homes this year, we need to do more next year. This amendment will enable us to do that. I welcome the support of all Senators in the House, who all believe in the delivery of social and affordable housing. I ask for support for this measure on a time-bound basis, which will enable us to deliver even more social and affordable homes by allowing the planning process to expedite planning in that regard.