Report on Mahon to urge local planning regulation

The Cabinet is to receive a report on the Mahon Tribunal’s recommendations which includes a consideration about an independent planning regulator for local authorities.

Housing Minister Jan O’Sullivan confirmed her department had completed a review of several report conclusions.

The probe called for more transparency between local authorities and public representatives and called for the national spatial strategy to be put on a statutory footing.

It also included calls for an independent planning regulator.

Ms O’Sullivan said these areas had been considered by her department officials and a report was being sent to the Cabinet.

However, she said no position on such a regulator had been decided yet.

The report comes as Ms O’Sullivan warned council officials she would crack down on them to ensure planning mistakes of the Celtic Tiger remain a thing of the past.

“We intend to make sure that the planning process is appropriate, that it’s in the interest of the general public and not developer-led,” she said.

“We intend to make sure that, at all levels, that planning is evidence-based, that it is properly carried out.”

The recent publication of the Mahon Report, which found corruption involving developers and officials during the 1990s, has prompted the Government into revising the planning system.

Calls were made under recent legislation for city and county councils to carry out reviews of their maps, following the boom when stretches of land were often rezoned despite being inappropriate for a new use.

But eight local authorities have not completed the process within the timeframes set. Ms O’Sullivan said she will write to the authorities in question and that they will be monitored to make sure they comply with guidelines.

More than 42,000 hectares were zoned for housing in 2009, which led to an oversupply of four and a half times the actual need.

By reviewing zoning, the Government hopes to get that down to just over 11,000 hectares, which it claims will meet future housing needs.

Ms O’Sullivan said: “The public are concerned about planning and I think it’s mainly on the back of the Mahon Report.”

Meanwhile, a website that gives information on the planning system has been launched.

Myplan.ie includes details of the hundreds of development plans in process throughout the country, ensuring greater transparency in the system.