Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

We have discussed this proposal previously. It seeks to introduce a new section relating to protected monuments. It will require planning authorities to refer to the protected monuments in their city or county development plans in both their written statement and their development plan.

This is not new; it reflects the current situation. At our previous debate on the Bill, I brought in copies of a few appendices from various councils and showed them to the Minister of State. I had a look at them again today. I spoke to a number of the directors of planning and local authorities and asked them, independent of me, what they see as the benefit. They said it was very doable now given how technology has moved on. Between various planning levies and schemes, development plans got very cluttered, but there is now technology to resolve that. The appendix is a separate booklet that can be changed, even though it does not change often. It is important to do it with providing a degree of certainty, but more important, it relates to public awareness. A city or county development plan is a legitimate expectation of how a community, town or county is going to be developed over the next six, seven or, more likely, ten years, given how long it will take for the planning and development legislation to go through.

There has to be a degree of certainty, and the plan educates and assists people in identifying where there are monuments. I am thinking of the Dublin Mountains, not far from where I live, and all along the coast. I live near the coast but the mountains are behind us, also within the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown county development plan. All the dolmens and so on are clearly marked out. The plan is important for people who are considering purchasing property, be it for commercial or agricultural use, given agriculture runs along the fringe of the mountains there. It gives a degree of certainty whereby these monuments, structures or whatever are clearly detailed on the written statements and in the county development plans. It is not any impediment to planners, they tell me, but is of greater assistance. It gives a degree of certainty but, more important, it empowers and gives information to citizens who are vigilant. If a citizen stumbles across something and sees it has been damaged, even though this does not happen as often as it used to, he or she can research it, look at the plans and see whether it is a protected monument.

I think that in time, data will become very relevant to planning. The more data and information we have in layers, geophysical surveys and all sorts of things, the more that will aid the protection of monuments. Knowledge is power and it aids in the protection of these structures. I hope the Minister of State will be in a position to accept the amendments.