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ALTHOUGH A REVIEW published by junior minister Jan O’Sullivan today found a number of deficiencies in the planning system, it said there was no evidence of malfeasance in any of the seven local authorities subject to inquiry.
Speaking at the launch of the review into processes at seven county and city councils, O’Sullivan said that it identified areas of policy and procedure where “greater clarity, consistency and transparency” were required in order to improve the system as a whole.
The report sets out commitments for 12 actions to address the deficiencies identified with an aim to restore public confidence in the Irish planning system. Some of those were recommended with specific reference to various authorities, namely Carlow and Meath county councils and Dublin city council.
The recommendations include the prohibiting landowners or prospective developers from drafting local area plans, implementing consistent application of policy and correcting various applications of planning laws.
A letter will also be issued to planning authorities to remind them to regularly review planning decisions, particularly those that are overturned by An Bord Pleanála, and to take appropriate steps to amend and clarify the policies that governed them.
O’Sullivan also announced the planned appointment of an independent planning consultant who will be required to assess all actions contained in today’s report, as well as propose any additional measured deemed appropriate.
The Minister of State at the Environment Department said she believes these reforms – together with further reforms the Government will bring forward as part of its response to the Mahon Report – will “significantly improve the planning system” and “bring about increased transparency and consistency”.
Commenting on the lack of evidence of wrongdoing at local authority level, the Labour TD noted the ‘now-vindicated’ decision of her predecessor Willie Penrose not to “rush headlong into appointing seven external planning consultants to embark on costly, open-ended inquiries”.
The report was generally welcomed by the Irish Planning Institute, which represents professional planners in Ireland. However, it warned against any plans that would introduce a degree of informality between the appeals body, An Bord Pleanála, and local planning authorities.
The Institute also called for an examination of how planning authorities currently engage with the public and to look at mechanisms to improve the communication of how the planning system works.
Although welcoming the appointment of an independent planning expert and the 12 recommendations to be implemented immediately, An Taisce said the review still falls “far short” of the establishment of an Independent Planning Regulator as called for by the Mahon Tribunal.
The Green Party, whose former leader John Gormley announced the review in 2010, said it “beggars belief” that all seven councils came out of the report “squeaky clean”.
Spokesperson Tom Kivlehan said, “What we are seeing with this Government is no real reform, no transparency and a willingness to cover up past failings that make us fear for the future. Bad planning laid the foundations for our present economic woes and this Government is acting ostrich like and is prepared to learn nothing from past mistakes.”
Kivlehan claims the methodology by which the Department of the Environment seem to have come to the conclusion that there was no abuse of office was that officials from the Department visited senior officials in the Councils for a chat, they asked them a list of questions and that was the sum total of the inquiry.
At the launch, O’Sullivan noted that when this planning review process was initiated by then Minister Gormley he stated that ‘the purpose of the review is not to examine particular planning decisions but to assess the processes and systems that enable such decisions to be made’.
“The review I have published in full today achieves that goal,” she said. “It has assessed how a range of planning authorities dealt with a wide variety of planning issues, has identified current weaknesses in the system and proposed significant reforms that will be implemented. It has also proposed a further independent review of broader themes identified.”
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So knowing how things work in this country, it’s envisioned to be on the app around the 19th July but in reality, it will be sometime next year before it’s added.
@Keith Ellis: Covid App has been widely recognised as being excellently delivered. So has our vaccine programme. But I’m sure Keith Ellis from the Journal with his cool shades would do a better job
@Anthony Keenan: Kimda ironic having a dig at a dig. It’s only in the last fortnight that the Covid app has been updated with figures since the computer hack. The information loaded in the last few days doesn’t tally either with what the figures released from the Dept of Health.
@Keith Ellis: Disappointing at such negative begrudging attitude. HSE App in use Ireland has been highly regarded, very cost effective and delivered very speedily. In fact much better than UK equivalent.
@Keith Ellis: Not sure whether you’re technical or work with computers, but the hack was a HSE hack – not got to do with the app. The app/data hub feeds its figures from HSE sources (which is the part that’s affected) nothing got to do with the app whatsoever. Could be worth actually looking into what you’re spouting about rather than just talking nonsense. Again, the app was rolled out pretty quickly and many other countries have used our opensource code to create their own.
@Anthony Keenan: Any figures there in how many close contacts were traced with the app? Hasn’t been a word about it since it launched. Do they even ask people who test positive if they have the app anymore?
@Anthony Keenan: Got my digital cert this morning by email.
@Keith Ellis: Exactly
@Breda Kelly: Got my DCC e-mailed at 11.38am today. My second vaccination was on 20th June.
@Breda Kelly: That person in the HSE is going have a sore finger pressing ‘send’ 1.8 million times. I hope they don’t miss me!
@Keith Ellis: never lose an opportunity for a good moan. I suppose you’re pi55ed off we have the 20th highest full vaccination rate.
@Paul Furey: nope Paul. Anything to get back dining indoors and away from the smokers. But I suppose that’s just me moaning again.
@Keith Ellis: to be fair, they didn’t say 19th July in which year…
@Keith Ellis: I got my 2 vaccines efficiently and on time! I got my cert by email this morning! I’m livid because this is NOT what I’m used to! I need to complain! On social media! Constantly!
@DK: it’s in the app. 25k people have been notified using the app.
2m / 25k = 80 working days. So basically end of October. Target set by EU was this day next week.
Joke of a government now swanning off for 7 weeks after 4 pay rises in 1 year and god knows how many extra advisors and made-up positions for their FF and FG pals.
@Peter McGlynn: What? Don’t understand the first half of that. Also, could you send a link/source as to where it states there were 4 pay rises in one year? Thanks.
@Anthony Keenan: “The Government expects to issue up to 25,000 Covid-19 digital green certs for travel each day from the middle of this week after an initial block of nearly 2 million is approved for those already vaccinated.” Irish times.
@Peter McGlynn: What’s that got to do with pay rises? That’s what he asked for.
@Séamus Heffernan: said he didn’t understand the first part. I tried posting links to articles but seems to be filtered out. But google td par rises and you’ll see 2 x from mid last year together and one in feb and one in last month. Thanks.
@Peter McGlynn: You mean the pay rises that came as part of a wider public sector pay restoration that you’ve nicely click-baited to stir the outrage of a particular section of the commenters here?
@Peter McGlynn: no they are issuing 2 million certs in the initial block, once those 2 million are issued then the rate would drop back to 25k certs per week.
In fairness the wording wasn’t massively clear but that’s my reading of the text you quoted
@Peter McGlynn: before being so critical, you might want to read the article you are commenting about. 160k certificates have already been delivered and they expect to have 1.8m delivered by next Monday.
@Peter McGlynn: you are some whinger. 90% of those fully vaccinated will have their cert by next monday. If they could do that many in a short period of time, do you not think they will increase the output when required.
As for googling TDs getting pay rises, how will that show you government getting 4 pay rises in a year. Maybe you should Google ministers not taking those rises and most of your beloved SF taking them.
@John Buckley: I put my hand up – it was indeed the wording of the Irish times article that was misleading and actually a little click-baity. I’ll wait and see so.
Btw – have fun ignoring all those pay rises and extra ministerial posts created without results.
@Peter McGlynn: where am I ignoring anything, I corrected your false information.
You seem to be the one ignoring a lot. Some of what you call pay rises are pay restoration and it is for the whole public service, not just TDs.
If you want to complain about abuse, why don’t you look at Louise O’Reilly moving house (shortly after getting elected) to claim an extra 18k a year in expenses. Compare that to her fellow Dublin SF TD, Eoin O’Broin, who does not claim travel expenses
@Peter McGlynn: The opposition get those pay rises as well. Don’t remember any of them coming out at the time and turning it down.
@Roy Dowling: all Sinn Fein tds returned the payments.
@Peter McGlynn: Did you miss the bit where it said “after an initial block of nearly 2 million”? Those are probably all sent out by now. There will be about 25,000 per day after that – i.e. the people who are going to get their final vaccination each day.
As someone who is a host in a bar this is going to be a nightmare.
@Stephen Nix: what will EP be like? Carnage to work at.
What is to stop you from taking a screenshot of your QR code and sending it to all your friends ?
@Barry Teehan: Common sense?
@Ajax Penumbra: Unfortunately lots of people don’t have common sense. They tried it here ( Netherlands ) and had a “test event” in a nightclub with 600 people who all were perceived to be all clear. A couple of days later over 160 had tested positive.
@Barry Teehan: It’s designed so businesses can reopen safely so maybe act like a decent human being by not taking the piss like that and sure if that doesn’t work the €2000 fine and possible prison sentence might
@Barry Teehan: There’s a Unique Certificate Identifier code on the cert (35 characters in length). It’s up to the premises/business to check the identity on the DCC against another form of personal ID.
@David A. Murray: I’m not suggesting anyone do it David, but there are obviously ways around the system if nearly a third of the people in that nightclub ended up with the virus.
@Barry Teehan: nothing, but hopefully a bit of common sense will tell you not to.
@David A. Murray: it is so easy to make a false cert. Unless you can scan the QR code for validity, the rest can be anything.
@Barry Teehan: It has your name and date of birth on it too
@Barry Teehan: Because your info is encoded in the QR code. And you can be asked for ID to confirm. So if four Barry Teehans rock up to the pub and try to get in with a fake QR code, they might some other fake ID too
@Barry Teehan: Are all of your friends called Barry Teehan?
@Barry Teehan: A €2000 fine?
Got mine’s in a Revenue envelope- near had heart failure!
Do we know how many cases of Covid19 have been found through the tracker App?
@Claude Saulnier: Email the HSE.
@Claude Saulnier: Loads.
@Tommy Berry: I expected investigation journalists to be on the case
16,492 who tested positive uploaded their random IDs for matching with app user IDs. 25,428 received a close-contact alert from the apo.
‘from the app’
@Fiona Fitzgerald: 25,428 from different households?
@Claude Saulnier: I don’t know that. You’d have to ask the HSE. I think it means that they were near another person for more than 15 minutes. I don’t know how you calculate households from that. They might have been working together for all I know, or in a taxi or train.
@Fiona Fitzgerald: given the range of bluetooth, the space between seats in trains or buses and other criteria, these figures can be read whichever way one decides to read them. And from the people who were close contacts, how many cought the virus.
Cute
If not vaccinated or recovered, will it be the case that you receive a pass alongside a negative test result (as an attachment in an email for eg)?
How will I know the email is the real thing.
I got a email the pdf link has the EU flag with EI on it but the E is backwards.
@Declan Carr: that’s the correct one alright. If you print the page, it prints as A4. You fold the page into a small four paged, little book. It fits in your wallet. Once that’s done the EI will look the way it’s supposed to. You don’t have to print it out though.
will that also have instructions on how to fold it ? hmm liberal use of the word digital.
@ed w: Some people have to print it, so instructed how to fold it.
@ed w: yes, it does have instructions on how to fold it
So who exactly is posting out letters to those vaccinated by GPs? HSE says its GPs, GPs say its not them…anyone know? SHAMBLES as ever!
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