Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Part of the problem is that there is often a lack of transparency in the context of what council officials submit to the Department and how long the Department sits on those proposals. Local councillors often do not have transparency in that regard. The argument is sometimes made that a submission has been sent in and the Department is approving it. We need to make sure that there is more transparency in that regard so that the real ambition of local council officials is actually tested.