Planning Issues Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-25 ============================================================ Teresa Costello (FF), Agricultural Panel It is great to see the Minister of State in here today. Across the country, local authorities are undertaking significant transport, cycling and public realm projects. These projects often have major implications for local communities, businesses, commuters and residents. Public consultation is presented as an opportunity for people to have their say. Citizens invest considerable time preparing detailed submissions, attending information events and engaging in good faith. However, many people increasingly feel that once a preferred option is published, the outcome is already decided. This perception is damaging, especially when people are being encouraged and given the option to give their input. I firmly believe that consultation should not become a box-ticking exercise where submissions are acknowledged but have little or no influence on the final design. The purpose of consultation is surely to improve projects by drawing on local knowledge, identifying unintended consequences and testing assumptions before decisions are finalised. I have recently received communication from people in Tallaght regarding the proposed Old Bawn Road active travel scheme in south Dublin. Whether people support or oppose elements of the scheme is not the point I am making today but what concerns me is that, while many people believe they will be raising significant issues, they may ultimately have very little bearing on the final decision. In the context of the Tallaght village enhancement scheme, where many residents, businesses and community stakeholders have expressed concern that they felt unheard despite making detailed submissions and attending the information sessions during the consultation process, I would like the Minister of State to outline whether consideration is being given to strengthening transparency and accountability and requiring local authorities to clearly demonstrate how issues raised through public consultation have influenced the final design and decision-making process. My concerns are not unique to one project. It is something I am hearing more and more in regard to the Part 8 planning process and the section 38 roads scheme throughout the country. People want to know how the submissions are assessed and who evaluates them. Is every submission read individually? Are independent technical reviews ever commissioned where substantial evidence is presented? How often have public submissions resulted in significant amendments to a scheme? How many schemes have been materially changed following consultation? If hundreds of submissions raise the same issue, how is that reflected in the final recommendation? I think these are all very reasonable questions but I am unclear on the answers. Consultation is not simply about counting submissions for or against. A single, well-researched submission containing technical evidence may identify an issue that deserves serious consideration. Equally, local residents often possess practical knowledge about traffic patterns, school travel, flooding, accessibility or road safety that may not be fully reflected in modelling exercises. If people believe their views are ignored regardless of the quality of their submissions, confidence in public consultation will decline. I ask the Minister of State to outline what measures are currently in place to assess the effectiveness of public consultation under Part 8 and section 38 procedures. Specifically, is there any national framework that measures whether public submissions have influenced final decisions? Are local authorities required to demonstrate how significant issues raised during consultation have been addressed? Does the Minister of State believe there is scope to strengthen transparency by requiring councils to publish a clear response explaining which recommendations were accepted, which were rejected, and the evidence supporting those decisions? --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-25/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:07+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-06-25