Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Boyhan for his contribution and welcome his support for the Bill in the round.

The whole area of protected structures is at the whim of the conservation architect in a local authority who, during the course of a preparation of a development plan, may make certain recommendations. Councillors democratically decide on the merits of these without necessarily having the technical guidance to make that a meritorious system over which one could stand. That is why we are seeking for the Department to draft and publish revised technical guidance documents to accompany each part of the building regulations for use by this one-stop shop. This will ensure consistency across local authorities. It would improve the current system, which is causing untold delays because of individuals seeking clarifications of interpretations, be they architects, fire officers or whatever. If this Bill forces the Department to bring forward revised technical guidance documents to cover all those areas, it will have been a success.