John Gormley is a Smug Know-it-All Fuck

The smug know-it-all git has published a report of flood risk – see http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentandHousing/PlanningDevelopment/NationalSpatialStrategy/News/MainBody,18440,en.htm.

Buried within this is the following:

2.39 With regard to the increasingly frequent trend of paving over entire residential garden areas to provide off street car parking or hard landscaping under the exempted development provisions of the planning acts, the Department intends to review the Exempted Development Regulations to ensure that only those complying with sustainable d rainage principles will be exempted thus limiting the run-off which would otherwise contribute to overwhelming the drainage systems.

In the interim, in considering planning applications for new or extensions to residential development, which include significant hard surfacing, planning authorities should attach conditions to any grants of planning permissions which minimises and limits the extent of hard surfacing and paving as well as requiring the use of sustainable drainage techniques, including in particular permeable paving or surfaces such as gravel or slate chippings.

So the Greens are now proposing that planning permission is needed for paving a driveway. Have they performed an impact assessment on this and quantified the impact of this activity on flooding? Have they my fucking rectum. The controlling nanny-state Greens know what is best for all of us, even though we do not realise it. They simply cannot stand land apparently going to waste and be used for parking cars, which are also anathema to their worldview. Of course, this will also mean more public servants to process all these unnecessary planning applications, further adding to the cost.

Planning permission attracts a small direct cost in terms of fees to the appropriate local authority of around €50. However, applications have to be submitted with architect’s drawings and permission has to be advertised. So the total cost will be €700 or more.

So, what is the scope of the driveway paving problem. Some calculations and assumptions:

Number of Acres in Ireland 17,541,888
Number of Dwellings in Ireland 1,462,296
Assumed Proportion of Dwellings That Are Houses 80%
Assumed Proportion of Houses that Have Driveways 80%
Assumed Number of Dwellings With Driveways 935,869
Assumed Average Driveway Size (Square Yards) 150
Average Number of Driveways Per Acre 32
Assumed Number of Driveways Paved 25%
Total Acres of Paved Driveway 7,311
Proportion of Total Area of Ireland in Paved Driveways 0.04%

I am sure that some of these assumptions are incorrect. But at least it is an attempt to quantify the problem with something close to a methodical approach.

So all this is all over 0.04 % of the total area of Ireland. Never mind the remaining 99.96%. Let’s all focus our attention on this miniscule area. This all relates to the Green's dogmatic view of the world that is not restricted by the need to be realistic and practical.

Have Fianna Fail objected to this? No – that would require that the do something.

Have Fine Gael? Now – that would require they act as an opposition which is something they have never done in the past and will not be doing any time soon.