Letter to the editor: Democratic Planning – The New is just back to the Old
The Editor,
Letters Page,
The Irish Times.
Dear Editor,
Over the last couple of months, despite Ms Sarah Moorehead SC in her Report on the work of Councillors, saying we have no involvement in planning matters, I have tried to help and advise various residents groups with appeals to An Bord Pleanala.
The residents have duly prepared detailed submissions that reflected the policies contained in the democratically decided City Development Plan. On virtually all of these the residents have been ignored by the unaccountable Board and Officials.
In a few months time the media and Officials in the City Council and the Department of Housing and Local Government will be telling Councillors that we should play our role in determining the next City Development Plan. In turn we will be encouraging citizens and civic society to make their submissions towards making this City a better place.
Arising now from the dictatorial decisions of Government Ministers too weak to resist the pressure of unaccountable Officials should I now tell citizens that they shouldn’t bother and that in our new ( though really back to the old) “pro any sort of development anywhere” era that An Bord Pleanala will simply approve whatever the current whims of the people really in charge in the Custom House tells them too?
I try to have faith in our public institutions …but increasingly it is hard too.
Yours sincerely,
Dermot Lacey
