Vol. 522 No. 4
3 Ms Clune asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if it is his policy to abolish city-county planning officer posts in the Dublin and Cork local authority areas and to replace these posts with a director of services - planning and development - position which does not require a professional qualification; if so, the rationale for this approach; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18848/00]
Proposals are being finalised for the creation of strengthened local authority management structures to meet the demands of the introduction of a programme based system of administration and the abolition of the dual structure. Under these proposals, the posts of assistant county manager and county engineer will cease to exist. A new grade of director of services will be created at assistant county manager level and a number of these new posts will be filled by designation of the serving assistant managers and county engineers as directors of services. Each director of services will have responsibility for the management of all of the staff, both technical and administrative, dealing with the functions assigned to him or her.
The position in relation to all other posts will be a matter for consideration by individual managers in consultation with their staff during local discussions on the implementation of the new structures. However, I understand that proposals currently under discussion in the Dublin county councils and Cork City Council involve the suppression of the county and city planning officer posts in favour of the creation of director of services posts with the wider management remit.
The new structures proposed will not, in my view, result in any diminution in the level or quality of the planning advice available to local authorities. Under the new arrangements, the planning function will be headed up by a director of services at management level who will oversee both the technical and administrative staff. Under the new structures, there will be adequate numbers of senior planning staff to deal with technical matters.
I am concerned about the professional expertise which will be available to county councils or local authorities at county, regional and national level. Will a director of services not necessarily need to have planning expertise? In light of the recent debate on the Planning and Development Bill, I believe the functions of planning officers will be greatly expanded to take account of matters such as sustainable development, land use planning, spatial planning, etc. Will the Minister confirm that those who fill the post of director of services will be properly qualified and possess a particular level of expertise?
I have no concerns about the quality of the planning service that will be delivered under the structures for which the new directors of services will be responsible. As the Deputy is probably aware, this policy was laid down in the document, Better Local Government – A Programme for Change, which was introduced on behalf of the previous Administration by Deputy Howlin, the then Minister for the Environment. That document contained a great deal of material about the dual structure in local government, namely, the administrative and technical sides, to which a dual reporting system applied. That structure was clearly outdated because no modern business could operate effectively under such constraints.
Paragraph 6(15) of Better Local Government contained recommendations vis-à-vis changing the dual structure and explained the rationale for doing so. As the Deputy will be aware, we have been trying for the past three years to finalise matters in this regard to allow the SPCs to become operational. The proposals were voted on by SIPTU and IMPACT in 1999 and IMPACT accepted them while SIPTU and the IEI did not. The matter was then referred to the Labour Court which stated that in the view of the court paragraph 6(15) “is a comprehensive statement of justification for the proposed reorganisation as it affects engineers. It should be accepted as such by the unions.”
The procedures employed in respect of this matter were quite exhaustive and it is now the responsibility of local authorities to implement the recommendations in the best way possible within their organisations. I am satisfied it will not have the effect on the planning system which some planners have predicted.
Is the Minister aware of the industrial relations problem which currently exists in South Dublin County Council where planners are not responding to telephone calls from the public? If people enter the planning profession, what are their chances of promotion in view of the cap which has been put in place? Has the Minister held discussions with the Minister for Education and Science on the possible expansion of the number of college places available to planning students in UCD? Some 45 people have applied to do the course, yet only 20 places are available. Planning is essential to this country's future, a fact of which the Minister is well aware given the number of initiatives he has introduced. If planning is not given due recognition, that will have a negative impact on the profession.
I am aware of this issue which forms part of the Government's action on housing programme drawn up on foot of the two recent Bacon reports. I have held discussions with the Minister for Education and Science in regard to the possible expansion of the number of college places. I have also held direct discussions with the relevant Department in UCD and my departmental officials have discussed the matter with representatives of Dublin Institute of Technology. It is envisaged that the number of places available on planning courses in these two institutions will be increased.
