Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I want to back up the points about the "relevant person" and the massive change it makes to the planning system from the 2000 Act. This is not just about the legislation, which is trying to limit people's right to make objections and take judicial reviews, this is a basic, simple thing, which is access to planning information. This is putting planning behind closed doors again. Those types of things are relied on by people up and down the country every single day as a very simple functioning of the planning process. Limiting the process from everybody simply to those who are "relevant", without broadening the definition of "relevant", is a huge change to how we do planning at the moment. This is one of the areas the Irish Planning Institute has identified as something that works very well at the moment. It does not have an impact on infrastructural delivery, but the change could have a massive impact and would almost certainly be challenged in the courts if it goes through. We are not going to complete this Bill here, as it must go back to Dáil Éireann to accept the amendments made on this Stage. The Minister is introducing an untested change for no good reason and messing up a very simple function of the planning process that is working at the moment. I appeal to him to change it before the Bill becomes law.