Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I welcome a lot of what the Minister has said because it is in line with what I am going to say. The case I am making is that development, and what is exempted development, affects not just the landowner but can also affect neighbours and people in the community. Rather than fixing any problems with section 5, the Government's proposed wording, as it stands in the Bill, simply seeks to exclude third-party rights altogether. If the criticism is that there is a lack of public participation to ensure Aarhus compliance, the way we fix this is to ensure there is an element of public participation to ensure Aarhus compliance rather than simply abolishing third-party involvement in terms of section 5 declarations. The way to fix the issue of the landowner not being aware of a section 5 declaration, and thereby not being able to comment or make a submission on it, is to allow them to make a submission or comment so they can bring information into the process. The fix is not simply to abolish the ability of people to get a section 5 declaration. I welcome the Minister's assurance that this is being looked at and addressed. I think it is very important that it is.

Although anyone can make a complaint to a planning authority in terms of enforcement, I wish to reiterate what happens in practice by referring to one individual's specific circumstances. They went through this process, and indeed through the Ombudsman. They were vindicated in the end. Often, people do not go through a section 5 declaration process, on to the Ombudsman and so forth. When there is an issue with development taking place, people often go to the enforcement section of the council and say "That is not exempted development and this is why I think so", only for the council to around to say "No, it is exempted development; end of story". Without the section 5 declaration process, the person does not have the ability to get a formal decision to see whether the response he or she has been given by the council stands up. As I said, the option to lodge an appeal with An Bord Pleanála is always there and creates confidence in the system. To be fair to all involved, the process whereby the final decision is made by An Bord Pleanála can bring clarity to more complex situations in which it may not be absolutely clear what is or is not exempted development. The An Bord Pleanála process brings such clarity, and over time cases are established and knowledge is acquired. That side of the process works.

The Minister has indicated that he is looking at this. I urge him to fix the deficiencies rather than get rid of third-party involvement. In particular, the Minister has referenced environmental groups. I have referenced direct neighbours. It may not just be a direct neighbour who has a legitimate interest; it can be people in a community who are affected by what they consider is not exempted development, particularly in sensitive landscapes and so forth where things can have impacts on the wider community. I think that all of that needs to be provided for in this legislation. I urge the Minister to follow through on what he has indicated he is looking at because it is extremely important.