Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am not making comparisons between the Bills, but it is not unprecedented for us to have one PLS session with the Department. We have done that before and we are likely to do it again. It is my intention from today's session, with the questions and answers and the help we got from the Department, that we proceed to compile the PLS report, which can be drafted and put before us as soon as possible. We can seek suggestions from outside groups and Deputies can include those as part of the recommendations within the report, if they wish. It should be remembered, and the Deputy knows this well from the PLS reports we have done that, realistically, this process takes some time. It takes approximately two weeks, even from one session, to produce a PLS report. We know that from the large-scale residential development, LSRD, Bill. We only had two sessions on that, yet it took four weeks to produce a report.

I do not want to delay this any longer. My view is that we ask the secretariat to compile the PLS report and bring it to us. Members may contact outside organisations for suggestions and recommendations for that report, or bring them on Committee Stage or other Stages of the legislation. Is that okay?