Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is not members of the local authority and, therefore, there is no strand of accountability to the members at local level once they pass Part 8 applications. Is that correct? There is a flaw because there is no line of accountability at local level. Deputy Hourigan has pointed out that there is no straight line of accountability to us. There is no straight line of accountability to the members who were democratically elected at local level and are, legally, the local council. I draw Mr. Harrington's attention to this issue and perhaps it could be flagged to the Minister.