THEY may have less than 100 days left in their current term as elected representatives, but Mayo county councillors appear to be standing firm in their Development Plan row with Minister John Gormley – to such an extent that abolition of the Council has not been ruled out.
Gormley stance could lead to Council abolition > Oireachtas report sides with councillors
> Minister reiterates ‘legal obligation’ requirement Michael Duffy THEY may have less than 100 days left in their current term as elected representatives, but Mayo county councillors appear to be standing firm in their Development Plan row with Minister John Gormley – to such an extent that abolition of the Council has not been ruled out.
Last Thursday it looked as if this protracted battle over the zoning of land for residential purposes in the county had come to a satisfactory conclusion as the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Heritage and Local Government, whom the councillors addressed last November, issued a statement which indicated they had taken on board the views of the councillors.
The Green Party Minister John Gormley issued a direction against the Council last year which effectively meant recommended changes made by the councillors themselves to the plan were over-ruled. The lack of consultation prior to the issuing of what councillors believed to be a ‘diktat’ led to the councillors visiting Leinster House to address the joint committee and, last week, a detailed 59-page report from the committee stated ‘that the Planning and Development Act should be amended to allow for a period of consultation involving the Department, local authorities and general public, should there be a direction to vary a County Development Plan’.
This is effectively what Mayo county councillors had wanted from the protracted process but a press release issued by Minister Gormley on Friday dashed any hope of the committee’s recommendations having any impact on the Mayo Development Plan impasse.
Having thanked the Joint Committee for their work in compiling the report and for highlighting some key issues, Minister Gormley went on to reiterate that Mayo County Council is legally obliged to fully implement and abide by the direction issued last year and he expects that their development plan will be formally varied to include the requirements of the direction very shortly.
He also stated that in this regard, officials of the Department indicated their willingness and have been available to meet with the Cathaoirleach and officials of Mayo County Council to discuss implementation issues.
Reacting to the Minister’s response, one of the chief councillors to champion the cause in opposition to Minister Gormley, Fine Gael’s Paddy McGuinness said he was ‘amazed’ by the Minister’s statement.
“It amazes me that the Minister has the gall to welcome the findings of the committee’s report and then in the next sentence come full circle and state we still must fully abide by his non-negotiable direction.
“There appeared to be light at the end of the tunnel after the committee, who earnestly and intelligently sat down and listened to our side of the debate, issued their recommendation, but it appears to me we are now back at square one.”
Cllr McGuinness went on to say that Minister Gormley’s indication of the willingness of his Department officials to meet with the Chairman and officials of Mayo County Council to discuss implementation issues was the ‘height of arrogance’ on the Minister’s part.
“What he is basically saying, despite the recommendations of the committee, it that his officials will meet Mayo County Council to discuss how their plans will be implemented, without a shred of regard for our plans. I have no doubt that if this continues to be the case, the elected representatives, my colleagues on Mayo County Council, would rather consider abolition of the Council than be treated with such disdain.”
Cllr Al McDonnell, who has headed up the campaign along with Cllr McGuinness, was more optimistic that talks between the officials from both the Department and the Council may lead to a resolution ‘in the interest of both bodies concerned’.
However, he reiterated that if the Minister continued to issue statements threatening Mayo County Council about its ‘legal obligations’, then the prospect of abolition was ‘a real possibility’.
“The committee in their report have clearly stated that Mayo county councillors felt passionately about this issue and rejected the Minister’s requests for changes in the plan as the proposed alterations would ensure the death of rural Mayo. Our stance in relation to that issue has not changed, and if the Minister continues to ignore that fact, in spite of what his elected colleagues have recommended, then I would go one step further and call for his resignation.”
FULL TEXT OF MINISTER’S STATEMENT Minister Gormley welcomes the report of the Joint Committee on Ministerial Directions and Development Plans
Mr. John Gormley, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, welcomes today*s (11 March 2009) publication by the Joint Committee on Environment, Heritage and Local Government of their report on The Application of Ministerial Directions to County Development Plans.
Development Plans are drawn up every six years and are required under the Planning and Development Act 2000 to provide for the proper planning and sustainable development of an area, and to be consistent with national plans, policies and strategies. In effect, they set the framework within which the economic and social development of an area will happen and are the primary touchstone for consideration of all applications for planning permission.
Section 31 of the Act empowers the Minister to direct a planning authority to take specified measures as the Minister may require if the Minister feels that an adopted Development Plan fails to set out an overall strategy for the proper planning and sustainable development of an area of a Plan.
The Minister issued a Direction in July 2008 to Mayo County Council to amend aspects of the Mayo County Development Plan 2008-2014 because of non-compliance with national rural housing policy and also uncoordinated over-zoning for residential development at towns around the county without prioritising development in the NSS-designated linked Hub of Ballina-Castlebar.
The Minister would like to thank the Joint Committee for their work in compiling the report and for highlighting some key issues.
The Minister welcomes the Committee*s endorsement of the Minister*s over-arching role in ensuring that development plans provide for proper planning sustainable development and that they*re consistent with national plans and policies, and particularly welcomes the Committee*s recommendation that local authorities should incorporate the views of the Minister in their development plans in order to reduce the need for Ministerial intervention.
Mayo County Council are legally obliged to fully implement and abide by the direction issued last year and the Minister expects that their development plan will be formally varied to include the requirements of the direction very shortly. In this regard, officials of the Department indicated their willingness and have been available to meet with the Chairman and officials of Mayo County Council to discuss implementation issues.
The Minister also welcomed the Committee*s view that there should be legal provision for further consultation between the Minister and local authorities after the adoption of a plan and prior to the issuing of a direction, and clarity on the exact form of a variation to a plan in order to incorporate a direction. *These are areas that will be addressed in the Planning and Development Amendment Bill which I*ll be
publishing shortly along with a number of other amendments which will
enhance and strengthen the planning system.*
The Committee*s recommendation that reviews of development plans prior to the adoption of a new plan should not commence in advance of local elections would be logistically difficult to achieve. Reviews take approximately 2 years and a development plan has a lifespan of 6 years. Reviews therefore start 4 years after a plan*s adoption. Given that there are 88 planning authorities countrywide with all their plans at different start and finish dates, dovetailing those dates so reviews will only start after local elections which are held every 5 years would be difficult to provide for and achieve.
Download the Joint Committee Report
