Ciarán Cuffe's Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments Bill 2004 Speech

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

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.