Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Telling the local authority is an operational matter, as provided for. I know many people who do not buy the local newspaper to look at the small advertisements, although they might read the news. They do not scour a newspaper every week on the off-chance there might be a notice of some obscure by-law that might affect them. It would be in the newspaper at a fixed time. Time and again we have seen that those methods of advertising cause all sorts of problems because people miss them before saying they did not realise something was happening. With newspaper circulation dropping, it is becoming a less effective way of informing people.

With regard to informing the local authority, I would not like to depend on the local authority to tell me about it. Putting it on the website is handy but one must keep checking the website as a result. Moving from the 19th century to the 20th century to the 21st century means one can register with organisations - eurotender is an obvious example - and indicate an interest in all tenders to do with boats or whatever. This will notify the person of a change, meaning that person will not miss a change in his or her sphere of interest. The person would not have to keep checking on the off-chance that there might be a proposal for a by-law. This provision would eliminate the problem we face perennially as politicians of people coming to us and saying they did not know something was going to happen. It seems to be a reasonable proposal and it is a modern way of doing things. I am sure when newspapers came initially, people might have argued we could shout it from the hill and light a fire but the argument was made that it was operational matter. When writing the law the stipulation was made that such notices would be put in local newspapers. This is just moving forward from there.