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

I move amendment No. 239:

In page 70, to delete lines 5 and 6 and substitue the following: “(k) the preservation, protection and restoration of the environment and its amenities and elements, including the archaeological, historical, architectural and natural heritage of the region;”.

Most of these amendments are stand-alone rather than grouped. I will speak to amendment No. 239 first. We will see how we get on. Section 27 deals with the content of the regional, spatial and economic strategies. Section 27(1)(a) to (p) lists the various areas the strategy should take into account. The amendment is very straightforward. It seeks to insert a new section 27(1)(k) for "the preservation, protection and restoration of the environment and its amenities and elements, including the archaeological, historical, architectural and natural heritage of the region". It is just to provide for another very important area to be included. The list in this section is much more prescriptive. In some of other lists on which we have had similar discussions, there are catch-up provisions near the end where additional criteria can be added. While this section seems to be longer than those, it only allows what is stipulated. I could be wrong but that is my reading of it. It is all the more reason this new inserted subsection (k) is required.