FINE Gael councillor Stephen Keary has accused Limerick City and Council of “double standards” within its planning processes, a claim strongly refuted by the Council executive at the highest level.
Speaking at April’s full meeting of the Limerick City and County Council, Cllr Keary put out the claim that, historically, when a planning application was submitted for a school extension, there was never particular oversight applied – something he deems at odds with how other applications are considered on Shannonside.
“You have an ordinary young person trying to get planning permission here to build a house, or an extension to an existing house, and every obstacle you can find you throw it across their way,” he claimed.
“You would go in for a pre-planning meeting with some of these individuals and they would pick out four or five issues that they would like addressed in the planning application. The planning permission further information request will come out then with about 40 questions asked.”
Cllr Keary said that “this is not good enough. If you applied the same dirty scrutiny and tactics to the school applications, it would be that the children of County Limerick and Ireland would be safer on a daily basis going to school”.
Director General of LCCC, Dr Pat Daly took serious issue with Cllr Keary’s comments, telling him that “we can’t have that said about planners or in what they are trying to do or equating that we’re applying different rules to different things or putting children or anyone in danger”.
“That is not the case,” he hit back at Cllr Keary.
Cllr Keary responded that “if there was the same scrutiny applied to any application for a school extension or a new school, there would be far safer scenarios pertaining today. While a couple trying to put a roof over their heads are getting blaggarded and being put through the hoops.”
