Newry Armagh Sinn Féin Sinn Féin -- Building an Ireland of Equals

Boylan tells Ard Fheis that transparency and equality must be at the core of planning reform

Published: 23 February, 2009

Sinn Féin MLA for Newry/Armagh and the party's spokesperson on planning, Cathal Boylan told the party's annual Ard Fheis that transparency and equality must be at the core of the rural planning reform.

Mr Boylan told the Ard Fheis,

"At the core of this reform must be transparency and equality in a system which must be efficient and ensure community participation.

"Planning Service has a long way to go to before it is a properly functioning, fit for purpose, organisation."

"For too long, in the Six Counties, Planning Service, operated a system full of inconsistent decision making that has stifled development in ways that people have needed it most i.e. to improve the socio - economic infrastructure of the Six Counties."

"Planning Service now needs to rise to the challenge set down by the Assembly in its programme for government and deliver a programme of comprehensive policies, processes and procedures that promotes economic growth and balances the management of development with environmental protection."

"Arising out of this reform all our public representatives must be fully equipped to deliver proper efficient, effective decision making."

"It is also important that elected representatives at all levels ensure that these measures are implemented and monitored in this interim period of reform."

Note to Editor

Cathal was speaking on the following motion to the Ard Fheis:

This Ard Fheis recognises the totally dysfunctional nature of the planning process as operated by the Planning Service within the Six Counties; calls for our elected representatives to promote a radical overhaul of the planning process and Planning Service in a manner consistent with party policy on planning; and in the interim further mandates our elected representatives to seek the appropriate faster processing of applications, subject to appropriate safeguards, where this would have demonstrable wider social and economic benefits for the local community, and moreover be fully consistent in all other respects with party policy on planning