Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Amendments Nos. 189 and 190 are similar. Amendment No. 189 relates to section 23(6), under which the Minister shall, within ten days of publication of a national planning statement, give a copy to various bodies that have an interest in planning. The amendment proposes that the Minister will present a copy of the national planning statement to the appropriate Oireachtas committee within those ten days. In reading it again, I am of the view that ten days is probably too tight a timeframe for that. What needs to be recognised is that the national planning statement would have been published at that point. Therefore, presenting to an Oireachtas committee is not in any way to seek to delay or amend, and that is not the function of this. However, it would be helpful to the members of the committee to be able to go through in detail with the Minister what exactly is to be achieved by the national planning statement. It may be a simple and straightforward planning statement and the committee may feel there is no reason to scrutinise it, or it may be something much more complex and the committee may have a view on it. The committee has the advantage of being able to engage with other experts in the planning field. It is not that there would just be one committee session, or it would be up to the committee to decide to split a meeting and bring in experts in planning or law and also have the Minister present the national planning statement.

That would be beneficial to the whole process. It would be a good opportunity to iron out any possible inconsistencies or misinterpretations and to explore and explain any of those areas where national planning statements or ministerial guidelines have been misapplied in the past. Whereas my amendment suggests a period of ten days, I ask the Minister of State to consider the benefits of presenting an already published national planning statement to the committee. It is good for the democratic process that the Minister would come before the committee and outline the rationale behind and objectives of that statement. Of course, there is nothing to prevent an Oireachtas committee, on the publication of a national planning statement, from holding a meeting and inviting in experts to scrutinise it, and it is within the remit of the committee to do something like that. However, it would be helpful if the Minister would also come before the committee and it would not delay the process.