Ciarán Cuffe's Building Control Bill Speech

Speeches: Ciarán's Dáil speech on the Planning and Development (Amendment 2) Bill

1 December 2004

Mr. Cuffe: : There are lines from a song which say:
Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above
Don't fence me in
Let me ride through the wide open country that I love
Don't fence me in.

Mr. Kehoe: Were those words written by William Butler Yeats?

Mr. Cuffe: Not quite. They are lyrics of a song written over 60 years ago by Robert Fletcher and Cole Porter.

Mr. Kehoe: I thought the Deputy might quote Patrick Kavanagh.

Mr. Cuffe: I could wax lyrical about Patrick Kavanagh also. The sentiment of not being fenced in is difficult to exercise in Ireland today 60 years after the song was written. Had Cole Porter set out on 19 September of this year from Enniskerry to try to assert his right to roam on the Old Coach Road down into County Wicklow he would possibly have been humming that song when he encountered a large metal barrier illegally erected by Mr. Joe Walker. He would have been prevented from asserting his ancient right to travel that way. He might then have retraced his steps and taken another old walking route across the head of Glencree valley. Again, in this instance, Niall Collen, head of the Collen construction company, would have stopped him in his tracks. This story is being repeated throughout Ireland. As Keep Ireland Open stated in its submission to the All-Party Committee on the Constitution, open commonages have been divided and fenced and access to beaches, archaeological sites and other amenities has been denied. Clearly, a problem exits in Ireland in terms of trying to assert one's right to roam. People are being fenced-in and prevented from exercising their ancient right to walk across lands.
The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Roche, last night described this Bill as being misguided, bureaucratic, not workable but possibly well intentioned. We must be doing something right if he is getting so worked up about us. It is not good enough to say dialogue can and should resolve such issues. We have had dialogue for the past 11 years. Groups such as Keep Ireland Open feel they are talking to a brick wall on this issue. I do not think dialogue is working. I would accept such a statement if this issue had arisen only in the past six months but not when people seeking these rights have tried for more than a decade to have them made manifest. It can be done.
The UK Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 may not have got everything right but it is a step in the right direction. I am quite often accused of advocating the Swedish model in Ireland. Swedish legislation provides that all persons shall have access to nature in accordance with the rights of public access. We must look abroad at what is happening to ensure our ancient rights are protected. The procedure is a simple one. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, in the course of its last development plan, obtained all-party consensus to a list of rights of way. The list was included in the draft plan-----

Mr. B. O'Keeffe: Is the Deputy arguing against himself now and saying the rights exist under the current development plan?

Mr. Gogarty: It is the exception that proves the rule.

Mr. Cuffe: I am simply suggesting that-----

Mr. B. O'Keeffe: The Deputy is saying that such a right is included in the development plan

Mr. Gormley: The Minister of State should not interrupt.

Mr. Boyle: Other county councils can choose not to do it, and are not doing it.

Acting Chairman (Dr. Cowley): The Minister of State should allow Deputy Cuffe to speak.

Mr. Cuffe: I thank the Chair for defending my right to speak. While Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council included the list in a discretionary manner, the majority of county councils are not bothering to do so because it is not a mandatory provision of their development plans. You know that well, Minister of State. How dare you suggest that all councils would politely follow the lead of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.

Acting Chairman: Deputy Cuffe should address his remarks through the Chair.

Mr. Cuffe: The rights of way are listed in the draft plan, landowners' concerns are considered by the manager and are either dropped, amended or curtailed. The revised list is then agreed by the council and an advertisement is placed in the newspapers. It is then up to the council to approve the list. This is not rocket science; it can be done. We are simply stating that enactment of this Bill would ensure it is done, which is a long way away from the point of view of the Minister of State.
The Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív, and the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Roche, asked what would happen if a right of way was left out. One can state that the list is not a complete list, thereby ensuring other rights of way could be included. I do not see any particular problem arising. Mention was made that all the planning legislation had recently been reviewed and the question was asked why we should go back to review a small part of it. The Government filleted the heart out of the social and affordable legislation a mere two years after it was passed. How dare the Minister of State suggest we should not amend the Planning and Development Act 2000 which he states is perfect. The Government plucked the guts out of social and affordable housing and left Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern, trying to defend a miserly 300 social housing completions out of 70,000 private houses built last year.

Page last updated 13 March 2006

Ciarán Cuffe is a TD for the Dún Laoghaire Dáil Constituency. Ciarán can be contacted at Dáil Éireann, Kildare Street, Dublin 2 or 96 Patrick Street, Dún Laoghaire Tel. 284 6060 or 618 3082, Fax 618 4341, Email Ciaran CiaranCuffe.com, or Text Ciaran on 087 265 2075.