Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is not quite the same thing. I will address those two amendments but, before I do, I have a question that is relevant to the grouping as a whole. What happens to a Part 8 process that has started before the transition date? There is every likelihood the county council or city council may not proceed in order to avoid that. However, what will happen to Part 8 processes that either span the transition or are completed shortly beforehand? We need to ensure projects initiated by the county council continue to flow to the city council as smoothly as possible.

On amendment No. 103, the point is made by the city council that the regional spatial and economic strategies are due to be adopted in March 2019. Under the Planning and Development Acts, the city council is generally required to start the process of a new city plan within 13 weeks, which would be June 2019. This makes the process a busy one and some flexibility would be reasonable. If it is covered, that is fair enough, but from the explanation the Minister of State has given, I am not sure it is.

On amendment No. 102, I have discussed the issue previously with the Minister of State. As a councillor for one of the largest transition areas, I had the experience of working in a municipal district. Despite having been sceptical at the outset, and the experience of councillors in different municipal districts was different, we had a very good municipal district and it worked very well. It kept local issues off the county council agenda and ensured they were dealt with at a local area level. It is a good model. I know there are area committees in Dublin and in other places but these do not have the same statutory basis. While it might not be in order for full local area plans to be made by municipal districts in a city such as Cork, although there may be a value in it, municipal districts can make by-laws. I believe it makes sense to do this at a more local level. It makes sense for municipal districts to adopt or comment upon the municipal allocation or the budgetary allocation that is coming from the city council. If that statutory structure is provided for dealing with very local issues and taking very local budgetary initiatives, it will be a value to those councillors in that ward or municipal district, but it will also ensure the city council as a whole is far more focused on the overall policy direction and strategy of the city and metropolitan area. I think it is a good model and we should have it, or something like it, in the city.