I welcome this Bill. It will ensure the planning code works effectively when the remaining provisions commence later this year. If we look at the tone and sentiment of this Dáil term, it has been all about delivery across all types of infrastructure while maintaining public confidence in the planning system. If we consider some of the representative bodies, there is a changing view regarding how the pace of progress is increasing. Over 35,000 homes were delivered last year, an almost doubling since the start of the decade. Some of these measures will ensure that we will have a viability rather than a profitability argument around home development. Sometimes people lose sight of the difference between those two. In reality, we need to ensure we have viability for these projects so that income can cover costs. You can be profitable but have a very unsustainable business model. It is important that with this Bill and its planning guidelines we will see a level of certainty and ensure that the sector can invest. Far too many contractors and developers have moved overseas in recent times because of delays in the system. In fairness to the Minister of State and the Department, they have worked to iron out those challenges and ensure certainty can be given. Judicial review reform has been critical. We have had several debates at the Oireachtas Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery. In this country, judicial review is seen as the norm rather than the exception. It is part of the planning process. We have five times more judicial reviews than the UK. That is simply not acceptable. If we want to see large-scale projects delivered and certainty for further investment, we have to ensure that the planning system works rather than the judicial system having to work in relation to planning development. The Minister of State has talked about An Coimisiún Pleanála and some of the measures there to introduce statutory timelines for applications. They are very necessary. However, I am concerned that where a timeline is given, the applicant hears back at the eleventh hour from An Coimisiún Pleanála. There should be some means by which it identifies a problem early and remains engaged with the applicant in the best interests of time and, where possible, it could discuss concurrent issues over time to ensure the challenges are mitigated. In respect of the development plan, the ten-year period is a welcome step. Again, it gives certainty and we have to be cognisant that any piece of land in this country that is serviced should be in a development plan, regardless of the size, the population or the current demand. We need to be very ambitious about that. With land that is zoned because it has been serviced, an onus has to be put on the landowner to ensure that land is made available for development. Utility providers, such as Irish Water, need to show a greater element of transparency as to what capacity they have in every town and village right across the country and keep that updated with potential developments. The interpretation of standards around the country can vary. I have seen this in my constituency with the over-the-shop grant that has been introduced. There seems to be a level of complication there and the whole purpose of what the Minister of State and the Department are doing is to iron out those challenges and ensure we make these more seamless. Housing delivery is key and I fundamentally believe that ensuring planning permissions that are already in the system can continue without unnecessary delay will be an important part of this Bill. The Government is making a commitment for increased funding. I have seen in my county what the land activation scheme has done to unlock 2,000 new homes and rely not just on public sector development of housing but on the private sector as well. There is a commitment here that will go down well with the construction industry to ensure we can see a greater level of development. We are committing almost one in five euro to the likes of energy in the current infrastructure plan for the country. That is a monumental change to our commitment to infrastructure. It will give the confidence to ensure we see the housing, transport development and water development. In relation to modern methods of construction, a company in County Offaly, Banagher Precast Concrete, specialises in precast concrete and exports it all over the world. Recently, from a transport perspective, the Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets, DMURS, was introduced to ensure more footpaths and narrower roads. However, there is then an issue with these oversized vehicles being transferred along the roads of Ireland. We have to get that right. We cannot have the construction industry moving to more prefabrication and more consistency in quality by moving to in-workshop manufacturing and transporting it on the road while roads are being narrowed. I want to touch on the area of resources. Planners and the Office of the Planning Regulator are going to play a key role in this. I get a sense of concern from planners on the front line about this and about how it is going to be interpreted and implemented. The one thing I call for today is that if the Office of the Planning Regulator is currently committed to engaging with senior planners in relation to that training and roll-out, they might ensure it goes further down through the organisation so planners at all levels are aware and can share on-the-ground issues that senior planners, no disrespect to them, may not be aware of. Overall, this Bill is very positive and constructive. It sends out a very important message that we want to deliver, deliver, deliver. I thank the Minister of State for bringing it forward. I will share the remainder of my time with Deputy Devlin.

Sentiment score: 0.29