Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Apologies for cutting across the Minister. I have a couple of points. That would be the first thing that would be useful.

Second, I fully accept that you cannot list every organisation. That is obviously why the provision on subsection (3)(j) is there but there is a big difference between being in the guidelines and being in the prescribed list in the sense that the prescribed list is guaranteed. There are two things that I am asking the Minister to think of. Where, for example, Údarás na Gaeltacht is listed, I am ask him to think about whether any of the groups we have listed in our amendments could be included alongside that. For example, take the Irish language planning officers, they are situated within the local authorities. The Irish language planning officers are a good case in point. On the one hand, one could make the assumption that because they are situated in the local authorities, they could be consulted. However, as all of us know and particularly those of us with experience in local government, just because you happen to work in the local authority does not mean the director of planning services adequately engages where there is an obligation to do it. We all know that. I am not looking to convince the Minister now. I am just asking him to have a second think about whether any of the groups that are listed in our amendments could usefully fit in as additions in the primary legislation.

Just so I am very clear, am I correct in saying that while the Minister could put these groups in the regulations, there is no requirement on the planning authority to consult them, that it is still discretionary, whereas in the primary legislation, it is prescribed? It is still a secondary status. Yes, the Minister is nudging them and recommending that they consider these groups but ultimately it is a matter for the planning authority. The only reason I say that again is that I go back to the issue that if you have a good planning authority or good officials, they will do this anyway, but in those areas where this is not important to them or where they might actually be hostile to the language, they will not do that. Again, I am not trying to convince the Minister but it is to be clear that there is a substantive difference between being in the prescribed list and being in the regulations. Sure, it is better to be in the regulations than not to be in the regulations but would the Minister at least make a commitment, when he is looking at the issue of the regulations, to see if there is anything else that can be added to the prescribed list, even if he is not going to accept all of them?