I move:
That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to prevent certain objections to grants of planning permission by requiring, subject to exceptions, that an objector must have a material interest in the development to which the objection relates; and to provide for related matters.
I am very glad of the opportunity here to introduce and move the Planning and Development (Material Interest) Bill. This is a very important piece of legislation and I hope it will speed up the planning process across the country. The objective of the Bill is to ensure that people with a genuine and local stake in a development can participate in the planning process and make observations and objections if they see fit. However, we want to prevent a scenario where individuals or groups who have no connection to a local area and who are in some cases acting in bad faith can submit objections to critical infrastructure, housing, etc.
At the moment it is quite extraordinary that objectors to developments can come from right across this country. For example, if a farmer is applying for a slatted shed in Donegal, it is currently the case that objections can be submitted by individuals from Kerry, Cork, Dublin and right across the country who have no interest, no awareness or no local material interest in that planning application. We believe this is wrong, and we want to ensure the planning process is speeded up, that efficiencies are introduced, and indeed that we prevent the bogus objections happening currently.
Under this Bill, people will be barred from objecting if they live more than 10 km from the site, or indeed if they own land farther than 5 km away. This is about supporting local democracy and it is fundamentally important local communities and local people have the opportunity to build houses, sheds and infrastructure that is needed in local areas.
The Bill does not extend to State agencies or public bodies. However, it is important to state that individuals or groups can still object as long as they are doing so with the support of, and in conjunction with, local individuals in the community. That is fundamentally important because in this country it has been the case where environmental NGOs have submitted planning objections to housing developments and other applications and they were doing so on the basis of making a quick buck and to hamstring contractors to ensure those developments were delayed. Those individuals were then essentially seeking ransom money through consultation fees. It is extraordinary what is happening in the State at the moment.
We have put a great deal of work into this Bill. We have a major problem in relation to vexatious planning objections from people right across the country who have never seen or never set foot in some of these local areas. This Bill balances the right of people to object with the need to prevent abuse in the planning system. As I mentioned, we have seen scandals in the past where environmental NGOs were objecting to developments and then offered to withdraw those objections if the developer paid them the fee. It was absolutely scandalous what was happening, with an NGO operating purely for profit with no genuine environmental concerns whatsoever. In one case, two brothers set up an NGO and objected to housing developments at the other end of the country claiming environmental grounds and then only withdrew those objections if the developer paid the so-called consultancy fee. Essentially, they are demanding to be to be paid off and situations like this make a mockery of our planning system.
Our Bill protects the rights of communities to object to developments. It protects the rights of people to lodge objections on behalf of residents within an area and it protects businesses whose interests may be affected. It is fair, reasonable, and proportionate and we would urge all Members of the House to support it.