IPAS planning proposals an affront to local democracy - Lawless
Aontú TD for Mayo, Paul Lawless, has criticised proposed legislation from the Minister for Justice which seeks to allow the government to construct seven big IPAS centres without going through the regular planning process.
Speaking today, Deputy Lawless said:
"We learned during the week that Minister Jim O’Callaghan is set to bring in legislation which will allow for the construction of seven massive asylum accommodation centres without the public being allowed to object through the planning system. This includes Thornton Hall in Dublin, which was originally purchased by the government 20 years ago to be used as a prison.”
Deputy Lawless continued: "The High Court previously said some IPAS accommodation centres were ‘illegal structures’, largely because there hadn't been adequate public consultation. However, the government is now planning to fully delete the requirement for public participation in the planning process for these structures. We in Aontú are opposed to this and in fact we will be bringing our own legislation to the Dáil in the coming weeks, which seeks to ensure that accommodation centres can't continue to by-pass large parts of the planning process and basically to make sure that the public and local community have a chance to object.”
"The system must be democratic. People have a right to object, and a right to know about developments in their area. If I want to build a shed at home, I’d have to put up a site notice, a public display on the road where everyone can read the specifics of my development. The fact that the government is talking about building seven massive centres but won’t name them or their locations for us, and then won’t allow us to make objections or observations on the developments is very draconian.
“We need proper transparency here and more consistency in planning. What we are talking about here is literally a case of one law for the rich and one law for the poor. “One law for wealthy developers and one law for ordinary people who want to build homes. At this moment in time IPAS is the only accommodation type which is exempt from full planning.
"I have raised the issue of planning circumvention in the Dáil many times and the Taoiseach and Tánaiste have always implied in their responses to me that they're seeking to lift that circumvention. However, the leaked documents from the department suggest they are seeking to make this permanent. This is very concerning," concluded Lawless.