Sinn Féin Senator Paul Gavan has said that the chaotic and overly cumbersome Planning Bill will result in significant delays to much needed housing, renewable energy and critical infrastructure.

The Limerick-based Senator’s comments were made after the Bill was guillotined and passed in the Seanad with many amendments not scrutinised or debated.

Senator Gavan said:

“The government added hundreds of amendments at report stage in the Dáil that were never scrutinised. There were hundreds more added at committee stage in the Seanad that we never reached due to the decision to guillotine the bill.

“We know what happens when legislation is rushed – it leads to bad law.

“The fact that the government has not accepted even one amendment from the opposition shows their contempt for the legislative process, and their use of the Seanad as a rubber stamp for this cumbersome and badly drafted bill.

“The consensus among opposition senators right across the political spectrum is that this Bill will lead to further delays to housing, renewable energy, and critical infrastructure projects.”

“This Planning Bill will lead to increased conflict in the planning system resulting in more third-party challenges, appeals and litigation.

“Of course, this should not come as a surprise given Fianna Fáil’s long history of misuse and abuse of the planning system.

“Fianna Fáil cannot be trusted on planning. They have chronically under-resourced the planning system for years. They facilitated the disastrous Strategic Housing Development legislation in 2017, which caused havoc in the planning system.

“Sinn Féin wants to get planning right. We have listened carefully to planners, residential developers, wind energy companies, environmental groups and community representatives. All of these sectors were highly critical of the Bill.

“We engaged with the Bill constructively, tabling hundreds of amendments. Unfortunately, the Minister did not take any of our substantive concerns on board.

“Unfortunately the Minister refused to listen and the bill, which will do real damage to the planning system, has now passed.”