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Updated, 12:22
THE JUNIOR MINISTER responsible for overseeing planning permission in Ireland has insisted she will personally veto bad planning policy decisions.
Jan O’Sullivan says she has written to all local authorities saying she will exercise her legal powers to overturn any policy changes approved by councils , if they are not in keeping with their local development plans.
O’Sullivan said she had personally overturned three policy changes in the last nine months – a significant increase on the rate of veto in recent years, when eight decisions were overturned in the previous ten years.
Those included a decision to block a rezoning of a wildlife habitat in Co Clare, and proposals in Mountmellick and Midleton which affected lands at risk of flooding.
The minister said she was required by law to ensure that development plans were observed in all planning decisions, and that her legal powers to overturn ensured “that these plans reflect national and regional planning policy”.
“However, on three occasions in the past nine months these observations have effectively been ignored, leaving me no option but to invoke my powers to direct a local authority to amend a plan to ensure it reflects best planning practice,” she said.
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And what of the planners who approved these projects that violated those councils’ own development plans?
The planners have no powers what so every, county managers and the elected members who decide everything. If your to blame somebody make sure you know what actually happens.
Have to agree with Michael here, planners make the recommendations and argue the case but don’t make the decisions.
Anyone interested, this introduction to the planning system is on Wednesday at DIT Bolton Street.
http://www.irishplanninginstitute.ie/ipi/event-detail/introduction-to-your-planning-system/
And I know of at least one case personally, which had to go to An Bord Pleannala to overturn a granting of planning permission by the council because in An Bord Pleannala’s words: it ‘contravened the local council development plan’. I paid 250 euro to get a government body to do the council’s job properly. The planners involved all recommended granting the original application despite it contradicting their own development plan.
I’m also at the right end of a 2 year planning process for my own house build – saying planners have no powers whatsoever simply is not true. Same number of planners are working now with nothing happening as during the boom with thousands of applications going through. They are finding ways and means of justifying their time and money and that means people like me applying for planning are made suffer though endless red tape, bureaucracy and hypocrisy. If you want more info feel free to ask me on Twitter – I can tell quite the story about my local so-called ‘planners’.
What about 13,000 people and its surrounding areas signing a petition to have a walkway named after Fiona Pender and her unborn angel? The council in tullamore has done everything single thing in its power to block it.
It was either going to be named after a prominent FFer in the area and management forced the 7 councillors hands or the councillors took a personal umbrage to a cllr that brought it up and wanted it passed? Either way something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Democracy doesn’t exist in Offaly. Fiona walked across the old bridge all her life, slid down it in the ice and went across it to school, discos, work. She will never be found. Her mam wants to lie her spirit to rest. The family has been besieged by tragedy. Do they not deserve this? Only two councillors think they do and have always thought so. One is an independent, other a Sinn Fein Cllr. The others are 4 FF, 2 FG and one 1 Lab.
All these councillors supported the Pender Family and Fiona last July. Photo opportunities. Here’s a link showing them hand in hand with her mother. Shameless! http://youtu.be/VHU3j8vnBco
Go figure!!!!
Shocked by this post, can’t believe the council’s attitude, am from Portarlington and we’d probably have the same problem in our town.
They put in a massive sign with standing letters on our walkway which LIVE however it says EVIL if you are walking the other way.
A friend if mine pointed this out on the town FB and she was nearly lynched for it! It’s now LOVE but Christ it took em forever
Name the councillors involved Ollie and get their email addresses on here as well. I would like to email them even though they are not in my area. I will also email councillors and TDs from Galway to put pressure on their party colleagues.
What kind of qualifications does she have to decide these issues? Thats like a plumber standing in the cockpit of a plane telling the pilot he’s not flying the plane right. Surely she should be useing her ministerial power to refer a file to An Bord Pleanala.
Using
It really isn’t… Common sense prevails when it comes to building on a flood plane. That is, it should prevail. You either stop the flooding or you don’t build there. Planning isn’t a hooha of wonderment, it’s common sense.
A more important question is what is she planning to do with the construction sites that have fallen by the bootlaces… Of which I can see 4 from my kitchen window. And I’m in a village.
Is it just me or does nobody else see a problem with one person deciding whether planning permission is granted or not? Especially a politician. Personally I would prefer a well trained chimp to make the decision.
It’s not just one person, it’s a last resort which should be available, and should be used. Maybe of it was used more often we wouldn’t have as many train wreck sites and buildings like Priory Hall to deal with.
You’re playing to the gallery now.
I think that’s a good point Pablo. I think Jan is a sound person to have in the position, but imagine FF get into power and turf Barry Cowen into the position?
I wounder is the minister going to do anything about local FF politicians using the local council to re-zoning their own personal land during the boom times. The FF local councillor I know about then sold it to a developer for €12 million, before nama took the developer over when he went burst. After leaving it number of years the council re-zoned the land back for agricultural purposes. No prized for guessing who bought the land back from nama for €2 million. Will that be investigated?
Galwaybay, As a citizen of this embattled republic, you should bring this matter to the attention of the minister. Enough is enough! There is no point in talking this corrupt practices. Have the courage to act!
Seamus do you really think anything would be done about it. I certainly don’t. In this particular case some labour and FG councillors voted with the FF councillors for the land to re-zoned back to agriculture. As the old saying goes turkeys don’t vote for chridtmas
I understand your cynicism but I’m with Seamus on this. If this all happened as you say it did then bring it to the media and the relevant minister’s attention. Name and shame those involved. Part of the problem in this country is that stuff like this rarely comes to light.
Maybe your right. I should go to media. Might get more results than going to a labour minister. I could publish the particular councillor name here but I don’t think the journal would be too impressed
Galwaybay,
I think that nothing will be done if nobody cries foul. The challenge of a democracy is that people become engaged in it.
The level of disengagement and powerlessness that people feel is shocking. This disconnection makes thing worse. It seems that people are more exercised about voting in ‘The Voice’ or ‘X-Factor’!
I do take your point that maybe nothing will happen even if it is highlighted
We need to build up enough interest to fight our collective apathy!
Saol fada agat!
Seamus
Enda Cunninham in the Connacht Tribune has written extensively about planning matters in Galway area. His details are:
Tel: +353(0)91 536222
email: enda@ctribune.ie
Thanks Seamus
And what about all the BS they throw up to couples looking for planning on family land when they come up with all the reasons of the day to reject these can this practice be stopped also.
One such council refused an American imported Log House saying it wouldn’t fit in with the area it was being built (even though it was surrounded by trees) proposer objected & house is now built, like how draconian. & stupid are these people it is an absolute abuse of power.
One off housing (whether log housing or not) is the biggest planning problem in Ireland, they should all be denied permission.
hear hear! parasitic urbanism.
There are loads of good reasons to stop young couples building on their family land as set out in my blog http://oneoffireland.wordpress.com/
For starters, if one of their children has a serious accident/illness are they willing to wait an hour for an ambulance to get their?
apologies ‘get there’ even
Ya, lets have a load of American log houses in the middle of nowhere for people probably working an hour a way, to match all the mock Georgian mansions and ugly bungalows that do likewise. That sounds like excellent planning.
This is the only country in the developed world where people have a right to build a house in the middle of the countryside, unless they have to be there for a farm or other work reasons. It’s a joke and should be stopped immediately. It’s actually killing proper rural communities too.
Bit late now for clamping down on bad policy the damage is truly well and done.
It’s precisely because of the damage done by bad planning decisions and poor oversight that we need to impose rules on local authorities. Would you rather she did nothing?
Hi Gavan
For clarification – the Minister is specifically prohibited under law from intervening in any planning application under s.30 of the 2000 Act. These powers were removed in 1976 with the establishment of An Bord Pleánala.
In order for this article to be correct you need to replace ‘planning decision’ (e.g. for a house) with ‘policy decision’ (e.g. zone a piece of land). All of the cases referenced were for zoning decisions. The Minister has the power to overturn policy decisions only.
I realise that this makes the article somewhat less interesting but it is incorrect otherwise!
Another bit of bull poo it just flows out of most government mouths sad.
Just another case of people in authority who cannot handle power. They become bullies and begrudgers (except to their mates and anyone with a brown bagged sweetener of course) It’s an Irish disease from the top down. Nothing to do with common sense or fairness. These points don’t count.
Hope she knows about the bio gas plant planning for Tuam
Why don’t you take it upon yourself to tell her? No need to rely on hope.
What’s wrong with the biogas plant in Tuam?
Is this kinda like closing the gate after the horse has bolted … About 10 years too late !!
Never too late Seamie. It’s the right way to do it, and I applaud her for breaking the trends. The more trend-breakers we have in power in Ireland the better.
Where do I start? …… Incinerator in Ringsend, I’m sure there are many more in DCC
Is that right Jan? A pledge to clampdown on planning irregularities? Kind of funny when you consider that she couldn’t find anything of note in the course of her initial inquiry …lessons to be learned….can’t waste time on open ended inquiries and so on and so forth. That was the conclusion, no? I bet you’re phone ran very hot during the course of that particular inquiry.
But that’s okay, you’re here now to save us from the planning irregularities to come. Hope you do a better job at that than you did investigating the “planning irregularities” that were.
http://www.thejournal.ie/planning-wrongdoing-local-authorities-jan-osullivan-taisce-484595-Jun2012/
Have dealt with planning authorities for years and some of the stuff i came across was shocking.i know of one house which was refused planning twice because it was beside a trout spawning stream then a local td had a word in the right ear and it was 3rd time lucky!!
I could write a book on some of the shenanigans that went on
May I refer her to the plans to build further on the banks of the dargle river at the same time as the government invests millions in flood protection on the same river !!
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