Mr. Kevin Kelly:

There is an assumption that the further information process and the pre-planning system work on the basis that there is a meeting, advice is given and taken and all the documentation is submitted correctly, as you would intend. That is not the way it works in reality. There is a series of meetings. There is significant back and forth. With the best will in the world, planning has become very complex over the past ten or 15 years; much more complex than it used to be. We need that element of being able to ask those questions, to the benefit of the developer as well. Sometimes, the delay around further information is in the developer getting the information back to the planning authority because the planning authority is working within very strict timelines in dealing with it, in terms of four weeks or eight weeks, depending on whether there is an environmental impact statement, EIS. It can take the developer a long time to come back with the information.