Kildare County Council staff 'not hiding behind Covid-19 to avoid meetings'

Kildare County Council staff are not using Covid-19 as an excuse to avoid meetings with the public about planning applications.

Cllr Brendan Weld  told the meeting he was unhappy that KCC officials would not undertake “pre-planning  in person with those seeking planning permission or their agents.

And he accused KCC of kicking the can down the road with its offer of reviewing this later in the year.

“We have to stop Kildare County Council using covid as an excuse,” he told a June 27 meeting, adding that he wanted the pre-planning meetings restored in September.

He was referring to a reply by council official Eoghan Ryan that since restrictions were introduced in respect of Covid-19 regulations in 2020, the vast majority of pre-planning consultations have taken place online in addition to telephone and email communication. 

Mr Ryan also said that the planning department has completed 106 online pre-planning meetings from January to May 2022.

He added: “Online consultation has proven to be a very efficient means of facilitating meetings for both staff and applicants, particularly in respect of commercial developments where a significant number of people participate in a meeting. The (council) recognises that there may be occasions where applicants would prefer an in-person meeting, and to that end, will review the position in Quarter 3 2022, in the hope that the current wave of covid will have stabilised.”

He also said he had received no complaints from the public.

Cllr Tim Durkan said face to face meetings are more valuable and he told of a person who was on their fourth application at a cost of €8,500 per application.

Cllr Nuala Killeen also called for the restoration of the meetings, saying that planning applications are complicated and personal to the people involved, as did Cllr Seamie Moore.

Cllr Noel Heavey said the idea should be an option only because some people prefer different means of communication, like email, texts or letters. He said applicants should have a choice.

Acting chief executive Sonya Kavanagh said the council is obliged to follow public health advice and she did not accept the pandemic is used as an excuse. She said options would be examined.

“We’re not saying no, we’ll consider it as an option. There is no issue with this, it’s about how we provide it and the timeframe. We need time to consider the implications,” she added.

A huge majority of the councillors were in favour of at least the option of in person meetings.

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