Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As a body politic, we need to restore confidence in An Bord Pleanála and the whole planning process. I have a pathological dislike of the whole virtual meeting scenario given that we are now out of Covid. Yesterday, we met members of the Local Authority Members Association, LAMA.Some council meetings are now held virtually or a blended version is available. Several possible scenarios could present themselves here. If there is a vote, mar shampla, on a proposal and it is my turn to vote, I could pretend that my line had frozen, the screen was not working or I could not hear and I could opt out of making a decision. Another possible scenario is that the recording system may not allow for the recording of the vote of a member online because it could be said that the system did not work or it broke down. Post-Covid, I have a dislike of the use of virtual meetings, especially in the context of the planning process.

Senator Higgins is right about the notification process and the due time. While I agree that 72 hours is reasonable, what happens if there is an emergency? Is there a window of 24 hours in the case of an emergency? All of us agree that there is a need to reform our planning processes. As former members of local authorities, as politicians and as residents, we have all engaged with appeals at An Bord Pleanála and so on. I made the point on the Order of Business yesterday, which is probably the minority view in my own political party, that I would not like to see residents' groups within the catchment area of a planning application being unable to submit an objection to An Bord Pleanála or to apply for a judicial review. I will use the example of the M28, which will be one of the most important roads for Cork city because it will facilitate the movement of the Port of Cork down to Ringaskiddy. Had there been real engagement by Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, with the residents and local organisations, there would never have been a judicial review. To be fair to An Bord Pleanála, its old hearing system was very good. It allowed for a real presentation of the issues, a thorough examination of same and the result came back, which was fine. However, the residents took a different view, which is their prerogative.

Let us proceed with reform to restore confidence in our planning process. We need a planning process that delivers, most particularly one that delivers houses as a matter of urgency and priority without having to stop at every single check and balance. That said, we do need checks and balances. In response to Senator Higgins again, I am concerned that if we tie the hands of officials with bureaucracy then we will be back to where we are today, where there are roadblocks and no way forward.