Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State, the departmental officials and everybody who has worked on the enormous task of bringing this Bill before the House. I acknowledge my colleagues and the secretariat of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage, who worked very diligently to complete pre-legislative scrutiny on earlier drafts of the Bill.

As we enter this debate, we all need to remind ourselves that it has been more than two decades since the Planning and Development Act was first introduced. In seeking to overhaul our planning system and processes, we all have the common objective of increasing clarity, certainty and confidence in our planning system so that developments can take place in a consistent manner that is conducive to sustainable development, not just for ourselves in the here and now but for generations to come.

There are a few areas I would like to touch on in the opening few minutes. With the agreement of the House, I will share my time with Senator Malcolm Byrne.