Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to have my say on the amendments that are being put before us here tonight. It is disappointing that they are coming so late and I want to put on record that we might need to make amendments to these on Report Stage. I hope the Minister of State will accept those amendments on Report Stage because we have not had a chance to have a decent discussion on this whole section.

I assume this urban committee is made up of the two cathaoirligh from each administrative area, six councillors and two to four members of society, based on auditing. I have a slight concern as to why we need four members of society at this stage on a committee when we trust our local councillors to adopt local area plans, to adopt county plans and to adopt regional plans at assembly level. Why are we bringing in private people at this stage to a democratic process that has served us well in the past? I would like to get some of the reasoning behind that.

It is equally being said that the private sector has no voting rights if I am reading the Bill correctly. On the election of the chairman of that committee, do they have a say at that point? I ask because it states: "The chairperson of an urban area committee shall be appointed from among the members". It does not say anything about voting rights in that respect.

What sort of powers are being given to this urban committee? I am not sure if it has to follow the same rules as the local authority when it comes to local area plans or county development plans. Is it short-circuiting that process? At one point it is proposed that "For the purpose of this section, an urban area committee may designate any part or parts adjoining the urban area concerned of an administrative area of a local authority in which part of the urban area is situated." Is the Minister of State proposing that without any consultation, this committee has the power to expand the boundaries wherever it deems fit?

When this committee does its own urban area plan, must it follow the same procedure as a local area plan or a county development plan or can it short-circuit that process?