Mr. Kevin Kelly:

I thank the Senator for his good wishes earlier. He is certainly putting it up to me. We fully acknowledge the role of elected members. As a practitioner, I must be clear as to how the role of the elected member intertwines with the reserved executive function framework. What we have had under the SHD and SID processes is a different kettle of fish. Once these go back into an almost normal planning regime, they will be the same as every other planning application. The most I can say is that, if the Department or the committee is willing to make a change in that regard, we would be happy to discuss that further with the AILG.