Carol Nolan on planning delays and the Glanbea Supreme Court ruling

Minister, I want to raise the ongoing challenges that are being presented by the planning laws that we have here in Ireland and particularly the problems that are being created in the area of planning in rural Ireland the most recent high-profile incidents of this is of course the decision by the Supreme Court to rightly reject an application to have the proposed Glanbea project factory halted colleagues in your own government have welcomed this Supreme Court decision as have many others including myself and my rural independent colleagues as a victory of common sense against an overzealous and inflexible attitude towards environmental or emissions targets the rush to court and the use of judicial reviews around infrastructure planning is creating paralysis in some areas there are also other many other well less well-known cases at a local level where onboard Planola is simply not fulfilling its statutory obligations particularly when it comes to section 126 of the Planning Development Act which states that every appeal is to be determined within 18 weeks this isn't happening Minister I have no wish to personalise this matter against the staff of onboard Planola I am sure that they are equally as frustrated as the rest of us with the growing need to assess even the most minor projects against a library shelf of EU regulations we need a much more simplified and straightforward system because the one we have is simply not working and is creating frustration and jeopardising much needed investment and job creation in many areas take for instance take for instance take for instance take for instance the case of Banher Chilling in my own constituency a multi-million euro investment that would offer vital price competition to beef farmers it was January of 2021 when onboard Planola initially confirmed to me that it was not in a position to determine if the inspector's report which was then already due by the 4th of January would be completed Then in March 2021 it was confirmed to me that it was confirmed to me that onboard Planola had yet to receive the report despite the new deadline of the 1st of March having come and gone Fast forward to September 2021 and onboard Planola were still not in a position to confirm when the inspector would submit the report on the appeal Then this January gone I was told that the report would definitely be ready within two weeks Yet here we are again the end of February and still no sign of that particular report That is a far cry from 18 weeks We must address this urgently because we have a situation where they are not upholding the statutory planning timeframe that in the timeframe for which decisions are due But it is also creating much needed for us It is creating frustration and it is jeopardizing as I said much needed investment and jobs Minister please Thank you very much Deputy Nolan for raising these issues in relation to our planning system And I think we will all acknowledge the need for a fit for purpose planning system for our country For the development of homes, for the development of industry and indeed for the development of public infrastructure as well Because as you will be aware we have now adopted a national development plan out to 2030 That involves public expenditure of 165 billion euro across all of the main areas of building the homes that we need Building our public transport infrastructure, our road infrastructure, our climate action measures, investing in enterprises and so on So having a planning system that is fair, that acts in a timely fashion is absolutely fundamental to the achievement of those objectives And that is why you will no doubt be aware of the initiative that is being led by the Attorney General It is the first of its kind in essence where he and a team of dedicated experts are now re-examining the entire planning legislative framework With a view to bringing forward new legislation that Minister Dara O'Brien will be bringing to government over the period ahead The idea of that essentially is to make our system more efficient and to reduce the level of legal risk People are entitled to object, people are entitled to bring a judicial review But we certainly do not want to see a situation where major projects of regional or national importance are ending up before the courts And have the planning permission rescinded on a legal point of law Because the planning system has to be robust and has to ultimately be vindicated in the great majority of instances where such legal challenges are taken Of course we also do not want frivolous or vexatious objections to developments across the country either For developments that are badly needed and must take place So I welcome, the Taoiseach and the Government have welcomed the decision in respect of the judicial review taken in the Glambia case People who took that case had a right to bring the case It has now gone through due process and it has been concluded and we welcome it And we all acknowledge that our agriculture industry is on a journey And it is up for that journey because embracing sustainability, dealing with the climate action issues that are there And the challenges around reducing emissions and so on are absolutely vital You mentioned about the issue of rural homes as well and one-off homes And I think when you look at the evidence it points to the strong delivery of new homes in rural Ireland In recent years more than 28,000 rural house planning permissions granted in the five years to the end of quarter three last year And about 80% of that number were actually built And the very latest CSO figures indicate a 38% increase in permissions for one-off houses in the year to the end of September 2021 When compared with the previous year So it went from about 5,000 to 7,000 So that is not evidence of a system that is completely broken when it comes to building one-off homes The number is increasing significantly And there is a balance to be struck between ensuring the developments are sustainable And are proportionate and are suitable to the area in which they take place Goor-ma-agut Minister, I thank you for your response And I certainly welcome the fact that the Attorney-General is examining the matter But I would urge urgency in relation to it Because we need to ensure that we have a robust system And a fair system A balanced system In place As quickly as possible I have seen firsthand in my own constituency With the delays That it is impeding investment And indeed it could put off future investment coming into Leash Offaly Because of this multi-million factory being placed in the position it is being placed in And because of the time delays that are involved But also Minister, you mentioned rural housing And I do and I have seen firsthand that many of those applicants are being left in limbo Because onboard Planala is not coming back in a timely manner with a decision in relation to planning for one-off housing And that is certainly an issue that also needs to be dealt with But I am particularly concerned with the lack of balance in terms of enterprise and environment We need to ensure that there is balance And I can see Certainly firsthand That it is tipping one way And there needs to be I feel More common sense More pragmatism Because we cannot stand up here and talk about job creation If we are being impeded and obstructed all of the time By groups such as Antasca and so forth Thank you Thank you Deputy The issues you raise are really important when it comes to us as a government and a country Meeting the objective of balanced regional development And we really do want to see such balanced regional development And it is core to the Project Ireland 2040 strategy Where the majority of the growth in the population of Ireland over the next 20 years Which is estimated to be growth of about a million people Will be outside of Dublin And so ensuring that we have the ability to deliver infrastructure in a timely manner Is central to all of that When it comes to the development of flood schemes around the country And other vital pieces of public infrastructure as well We want on board in order to meet the statutory deadlines that are there And I will raise the issue that you have raised today with Minister Dara O'Brien in that respect And just to say that updated rural housing guidelines are currently being prepared To ensure consistency with current requirements and legislation at national and EU level And subject to requirements for periods of public consultation And ensuring compliance with environmental legislation Which will inform the timeframe The guidelines will be prepared in draft during this quarter in the current year So in other words in the next month to six weeks Minister O'Brien expects to be in a position to bring those forward Thank you