Planning Issues
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-25
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Christopher O'Sullivan (FF), Cork South-West

I get the Senator's point about section 38 developments. In a Part 8 process, the members of the council have a vote. Ultimately, if there is an overwhelming feeling that the scheme will not work, they can take that democratic decision. In situations where that is taken away, I understand the difficulty the Senator outlined. Sometimes there may be an attitude that the council knows best, and not enough cognisance is taken of the submissions that are made. I have seen this happen time and time again. There have been incidents where we get it wrong, though. I remember in my town of Clonakilty, a Part 8 process happened and I was vehemently opposed to the redevelopment of a square. It has turned out to be probably one of the best things that has ever happened to my home town. It is tricky and tough. The Senator's overarching point is something that we need to take back to the senior Department to try to get more oversight in terms of the effectiveness of submissions. When a scheme is designed, it cannot just be a fait accompli . If there is genuine feedback, it has to be taken into account in some way, as opposed to there just being a box-ticking exercise.

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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