The Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, is seeking to introduce a standard planning service in an attempt to end regional disparities in the planning system.
The Minister will announce proposals today for the introduction by early next year of a standard, online planning application, with some standard requirements across all planning authorities.
While the Minister will not seek uniform requirements for planning for developments such as rural one-off houses, this is an area he said he wants to see "evened out" to bring "some coherence" to the State's planning system.
Mr Cullen told The Irish Times last night that in many local authorities, the current planning process is "mysterious and complicated".
He insisted that "a county border should not be the determining factor in the planning process".
The Minister is also anxious that the planning system be available online and that planning applications, comments and objections may be made online.
Mr Cullen said his Department had received complaints that planning regulations "are bureaucratic and contain administrative obstacles" to those using the system.
The Minister said that while planning applications should not be oversimplified, professional bodies were operating to different standards in different areas. "It is my view that it is possible to bring basic principles" to the requirements.
Mr Cullen said there was a tendency among planners to behave "extremely arrogantly, acting like demi-gods" and he felt that for many planning applications there could be enough information provided on a standard form to suffice. "Beyond that there has to be real engagement".
He said he wanted an end to situations where planning applicants, having gone through pre-planning discussions with local authorities, find their applications are then assessed by different planners who begin the process again.
"I am not going to accept that for the future. Planners should show full engagement. The process has to be open, transparent and consistent.
"It is all about balance. Local authorities themselves have identified unnecessary requirements.
"They are processing 80,000 planning applications a year and need a simple administrative process," he said.
The introduction of a standardised planning application, a draft form of which is to be launched this morning, is also aimed at opening up the planning service for use online.
He noted that the online facilities for paying car tax had worked extremely well.
Similarly, "e-planning, where basic principles are well-established, could bring certainty and coherence to the system," the Minister concluded.
