Dispute over reform of local government could spread to other councils

A dispute in South Dublin County Council's planning section over local government reform may soon spread to other local authorities. Planning staff are refusing to meet developers on pre-planning submissions and they have refused since March to take telephone calls from the public. At the core of the dispute is planned local government reform which the planners say could result in non-qualified people running planning departments in local authorities.

Along with refusing to meet developers on pre-planning submissions, staff will not arrange meetings in relation to a wide range of issues including applications and draft area action plans. The move could cause lengthy delays for development projects and will further exacerbate the crisis in the supply of serviced land for housing.

Under the Government's White Paper on Better Local Government, a number of senior county council posts will be abolished. These include the assistant county manager and county engineer posts. Several new posts will be created, including director of services with responsibility for environment, director of services with responsibility for roads and traffic and director of services with responsibility for planning and development.

The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, has said the posts of assistant county manager and county engineer will be reformed but other posts are a matter for individual authorities.

However, according to a spokesman for the South Dublin planners, not every local authority interprets this the same way. "This situation has already occurred where the post of chief planning officer was vacant and was filled by a management appointee who did not have formal qualifications. There has been very little progress on this issue from management and maybe it is time for other planners in other local authorities to become involved," he said. "This cannot be allowed to continue. Apart from the bad practice of somebody being in charge of a department which they can't fully understand, it leads to a lowering of morale at a time when everyone is being exhorted to work flat out to achieve the targets in the National Development Plan."

The spokesman said planners were coming under intense pressure from builders and the public to fast-track proposals and the job was becoming increasingly stressful. Superior pay in the private sector was also leading to staff shortages, he said.

"We have had a situation where one very well qualified planner with decades of experience has left for the private sector. If senior planners are to believe that they will never make the top of the scale, chief planning officer or equivalent, why should they stay," he asked.

The Construction Industry Federation has warned that the dispute has potentially grave consequences. Kevin Gilna, CIF spokesman, said a planning application typically takes one month to draw up and the local authority is entitled to two months to consider it. However, because of the pressure of work, the local authority frequently asks for more time and five months is often the start-to-finish time on many applications.

"If developers cannot meet planners for pre-planning discussions, that five months could be entirely wasted," said Mr Gilna. Any delay in planning meant a consequent delay in the supply of serviced land and houses, exacerbating the housing crisis.