Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

Amendment No. 39 seeks the deletion of the proposed new section 31(12). This would remove the selection criteria for the inspector to be appointed by the Minister to report to him or her on the draft direction. There must be overarching criteria that will determine whether a person is experienced and qualified to act as an inspector for the purpose of reporting to the Minister on planning and development issues. Without such selection criteria, the inspector's report would not have credibility and would be open to challenge. Therefore, this amendment is not acceptable.