Proposed changes to planning rules are not a solution to the housing crisis, according to the Green Party.

The changes would see planning applications for developments of 100 houses or more go straight to An Bord Pleanála, bypassing local councils.

However, the party's Spokesperson on Housing and Planning, Cllr Francis Noel Duffy, claims the changes would deprive local communities of inputting into major planning projects that will affect communities.

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He said: "I would have huge concern removing public representation and local community knowledge from the planning process. Site notices will become a thing of the past. Communities will be left in the dark in relation to developments over a 100 units until the developers arrive to start building. This is developer led planning, not community led.

"It also excludes local representatives from the planning process. It appears many of the normal procedures required for planning will be cut short for large developers, and the process will for the most part be kept behind closed doors."

(CD/LM)