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Speeches: Ciarán's Dáil speech on the Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments Bill 2004 9 December 2004
Mr. Cuffe:
The Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments Bill 2004 is
a necessary step in the convoluted process of dealing with the inquiry into past
problems in the planning sector. Rather
than climbing every tree, it is important that we should climb the right trees.
We should find the needle instead of examining every piece of hay in the
haystack. As Deputy Gilmore pointed
out, we need to cut to the chase by dealing with these matters in a more
time-effective and cost-effective manner.
I feel a slight sense of unease
because issues which are now emerging may need to be dealt with by another
tribunal at a later date. My unease
is exacerbated because the factors which led to the original establishment of
the tribunals remain in place. The
stakes have got much higher in the intervening ten years, if anything.
It is not all sweetness and light because the interests of landowners,
auctioneers and councillors continue to collide in a dangerous way when the
wholesale rezoning of land takes place. We
need to grasp the nettle by finding a better way of making decisions.
The discussion on the County Wicklow development plan in recent months
epitomises the amateur fashion in which decisions are being made.
Councillors were deceived when they were given information that indicated
that industries would leave the area if certain options were not taken.
We need to establish a body to
review development plans at a draft stage.
With all due respect to the Minister, Deputy Roche, I do not think he is
the appropriate person to review development plans to ensure that they comply
with national strategies, such as the sustainable development strategy.
We need a separate body to engage in such reviews.
It would not be appropriate for An Bord Pleanála to be involved in such
matters, given that individual planning applications can be appealed to it.
We need a stand-alone quasi-judicial body that can sign off on
development plans, in effect, and state whether they are sustainable.
As Deputy Gilmore pointed out, we
need to consider the recommendations of the All-Party Oireachtas Committee on
the Constitution. That there can be
a massive increase in the value of land at the stroke of a pen needs to be
addressed. The committee's
recommendation that local authorities should be allowed to purchase land at the
existing use value, plus 25%, is a good one.
I feel a real sense of anger when I read property supplements which state
that €40 million has been added to the price of a few fields in Shankill,
€100 million has been added to the price of land in west Dublin and a site on
Leopardstown has suddenly brought in a profit of an additional €40 million.
While the chosen golden circle is reaping enormous profits, the ordinary
people of Ireland who wish to put down roots in an area, for example by
purchasing a home close to their parents, are denied the opportunity to do so.
They are being pushed to the periphery of Dublin or to other counties
because they cannot afford to buy land or housing in the neighbourhoods in which
they grew up. That is fundamentally
wrong.
There is a huge onus on the Minister
to rectify the dangerous problems which are inherent in our planning
legislation. Until he does so, I do
not think we can be said to have dealt with the root problem of widespread
corruption in the planning process. Those
who facilitate property speculators have not gone away.
Some of those who deliberately made appalling decisions in the past were
re-elected earlier this year. We
will have further tribunals in ten years' time if we do not tackle the root
cause of planning corruption in Ireland. I
feel a palpable sense of anger because that core issue has not been addressed.
We need to wed the review of the development planning process and the
election of councillors. The
development plan is reviewed every six years and the election of councillors
every five years. During my 11
years as a councillor, incredible problems arose because councillors had to pick
up the pieces of half-finished development plans before, during or after
elections. Councillors should stand
for election on the basis of a development plan with which they have dealt from
start to finish. The Minister
should ensure that the development plan review process and the local authority
elections coincide such that there will be a sense of closure regarding the
preparation of such plans. I
acknowledge the work Deputy Gilmore and his party have put into considering
these issues.
Page last updated 13 March 2006 |
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