An Assemblyman has lauded the Department of Environment's pledge to promote equality in the planning reform agenda.

Sinn Fein's Cathal Boylan said he welcomed the release of the draft consultation paper on Planning Reform, accompanied by a full draft Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA).

The MLA said: "This is a welcome turnaround by the DOE, after many months of detailed negotiations undertaken by Sinn Féin representatives and personally involving the joint First Minister, Martin McGuinness.

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He claimed the DOE had caused "totally unnecessary delays" by bringing forward the draft consultation paper on Planning Reform for Executive consideration without it being fully equality-proofed.

Mr Boylan said officials had recognised his party's arguments regarding the DOE's appointment of external consultants in June and the preparation of a full draft EQIA.

"For several months the DOE had wrongly claimed that such an EQIA was neither possible, appropriate, necessary nor lawful," he said.

"At a meeting, senior DOE officials finally addressed - to Sinn Féin’s satisfaction - the primary unresolved equality issues regarding this aspect of the draft consultation paper on Planning Reform.

"I'm glad that the DOE has finally agreed such issues should be left open-ended, pending the outcome of full public consultation," added Mr Boylan.

(PR/JM)