asked the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy the precise manner in which his Department will review the energy consumption implications of development plans by local authorities by their respective areas.
3.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Energy Implications of Development Plans.
2.
asked the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy if general guidelines regarding the implications of energy consumption and urban development will be provided to local authorities and their planning officials in order to help them formulate development plans which would have as one of their consequences the conservation of energy.
4.
asked the Minister for Industry, Commerce and Energy the findings of any discussions or consultations which have taken place between his Department and local authorities around the country and, particularly, in the Dublin area with regard to their energy needs in future years; and the effect the statement of such needs is likely to have on future planning by these bodies.
With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 2, 3 and 4 together.
The extent of my responsibility in respect of development plans is set out in section 21 of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963 and the Regulations made thereunder which require planning authorities to send copies of the prescribed documents to me. However, the energy implications of the majority of development plans relate mostly to the responsibilities of the Minister for the Environment and I propose to consult with that Minister as to whether a general instruction would be useful or desirable.
As to the manner in which my Department will review energy consumption implications of development plans this, of course, will depend on the nature of the plans and it would not be practical to specify in advance the precise nature of the review. So far, no discussions or consultations have taken place between my Department and local authorities on their energy needs.
Is the Minister aware that his colleague, the Minister for the Environment, indicated a somewhat different attitude in reply to a question last November when he indicated that there was consultation taking place on the question of energy needs in urban areas? Is it fair to say that the only monitoring by the Government at present of energy as an element of urban or city planning is fairly casual consideration of the draft development plans as submitted by the various areas?
I am not aware that the Minister for the Environment took a different line. He may have been talking about consultation between his Department and the local authorities. I was talking about consultation with his Department, which will take place. What was the Deputy's second supplementary?
Would the Minister agree that a close scrutiny of energy consumption is important in the context of planning and that up to the present, Governments have not been doing that very well? Would he agree that the only consideration has been an informal glance at draft development plans?
I agree that nowadays it is important and it should take place to a greater extent than was originally envisaged in the 1963 Act. I should like to mention that the fact that I have to get copies of the plans under the 1963 Act relates to my functions in regard to industry and not to energy. It is only fortuitously that they come to my Department in its energy capacity. It was specified in the 1963 Act that they should be sent to the Minister for Industry and Commerce, as he then was, because of his concern with industrial development.
What is the position with regard to section 21? Is there a specific officer responsible for assessing these plans in so far as they would have implications for the Minister's Department?
They are mainly considered in the industrial section of my Department but it is now the practice within the Department, since the end of September when I became responsible for energy, to send copies also to the energy division within the Department.