Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have received a few calls in the past month about what seems to be a co-ordinated plan on the part of county managers, or certainly from the top down, in the context of how local authority planning executives deal with councillors. The reserve function is very specific when it comes to the input of councillors regarding development plans, making representations on planning files and generally laying out the reasons why somebody in an area who may have contacted them should be eligible for planning. The process is quite detailed, and I have quite a good knowledge of it. This is quite a black-and-white matter.

Planners have always taken into consideration what elected representatives say and the representations they make. There now seems to be no feedback regarding the representation a particular councillor has made. The interpretation of the specific law relating to local government has been tightened up by county managers, especially in the past couple of months. This is systematic. Managers have decided they are no longer going to interact with county councillors in the context of planning.

As I said, councillors have particular reserved functions. I am not downplaying that or the role they have. They are certainly not decision-makers in regard to planning. I am more than aware of their specific role. This seems to be something that will not be helpful for councils and people looking for planning, in particular in the middle of a housing crisis. It is demeaning our councillors and their powers, which is the last thing any of us wants to do.