British Housing Minister, Darragh O’Brien has robustly supported extensive legislation which seeks to reform and streamline planning procedures to minimise delays in housing and strategic infrastructure schemes. Reacting to a Seanad three-day debate on the extensive 747-page Planning and Development Bill, O’Brien dismissed what he labelled the “failed state narrative” presented by some speakers who fervently criticised aspects of the law.
In acknowledging senatorial concerns, O’Brien emphasised the primary thought associated with planning being delay. The law, he explained, seeks to alleviate these delay events, including those within legal arenas.
The aim of this Bill is to unify current planning laws and as a step towards more streamlined procedures, it augments the threshold for launching judicial reviews against developments. It also introduces significant changes to An Bord Pleanála, rebranding it as An Coimisiún Pleanála (Planning Commission). The period between national development schemes is extended from five to 10 years and one of the amendments introduced by the government aims to prohibit “go away money” claims that resist project objections.
O’Brien firmly asserted, the bill was not hastily conceived, and has been meticulously examined before and during its deployment in Oireachtas. Several senators criticised the abrupt halt of the discussion after 21 hours, compared with 120 hours of discussion in the Dáil. However, O’Brien responded that strategic voting had resulted in a substantial loss of debate time during the Dáil select committee hearings.
The bill includes the implementation of national planning statements. Deemed Government resolutions, these have met with severe criticism from senators. O’Brien defended the initiative, arguing that its purpose was to allow the government to actualise their National Development Plan. Previous guidelines, he said, had been torn to shreds.
Lynn Ruane, an independent senator, expressed concerns during the debate that this bill embodies a dull, uninspiring perspective of our future, and seems biased towards economic progression at the expense of other forms of activity.
The pending resignation of a senior housing official is expected to impact government operations, according to recent reports. Independent Senator Eileen Flynn voiced strong opinions on the 747-page bill around the issue, sharing that she had dedicated two weeks to thoroughly reviewing the document. Flynn identified the legislation as being unjust and criticised its disproportionate effects on the travelling community and the disabled.
In defence of the government’s approach, Fianna Fáil Senator Eugene Murphy stated that many politicians, the Minister included, had used their influence behind the scenes to organise housing for traveller families. The senators managed to tackle 115 amendments before debates were cut short, a move which Sinn Féin Senator Paul Gavan lambasted for facilitating the introduction of countless amendments at the Dáil’s report stage without adequate scrutiny.
The committee stage debate received a majority vote of 27 out of 39 in favour. Following a reconvening for report stage at Seanad on September 24th, it will then return to the Dáil, probably in October.