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

I agree with one of the points made by the Minister of State and disagree with another of his points. I have direct experience in my constituency of, for example, where there was planning permission for a significant number of apartments and it included some community facilities but the applicant went to remove some of those community facilities that had been granted permission as part of the planning permission in the first instance. I have direct experience of residents in that area being very exercised about this matter and wanting to participate in the planning process but genuinely not having the money to pay the fees. That might not be part of the reality the Minister of State recognises but I can tell him that it is absolutely the case in my constituency. Fees are a barrier to participation for some people, and I am not saying that is the case for everyone who deeply cares about their community and are deeply involved yet genuinely do not have that sort of money. Although the Minister of State may not think so, there are people in this country who deeply care about their community and planning applications but do not have the money to pay the fees.

In terms of how the Minister of State has described community or residents' groups being well organised and these fees will not cause issues for them, that is exactly my point. I say that because there are residents' associations and communities which are well equipped to access justice, judicial reviews and so forth but that is not my concern. My concern is where something happens that is very significant in a community or an area that does not have a track record of taking judicial reviews or anything else, does not have that experience, is not well equipped, is not well set up and all that sort of stuff, and maybe was not effectively trained for it through the SHD process because that was a way for the State to train a certain number of people in how to go through this process. If something very significant happens or they see that it warrants a judicial review, I am concerned about the ability of those groups to access justice in those exceptional circumstances and who simply do not have experience or a track record. I am not concerned about those who may have a track record and experience because I have no doubt they can comply with these provisions or set up companies to comply or whatever it is. I am concerned about the wider access to justice which is just as important if not more important as those who may have experience in this area.