Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I understand somewhat where the Minister of State is coming from. Most businesses and Departments will always wish to have an element of discretion. Some of those elements of discretion have led to the destruction of some national monuments in this State over the years where Ministers did not have the same interests as the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, has. We only need to look at the civic buildings in this city to see where our national monuments legislation in the past has taken us and failed to protect sites which would have been regarded as invaluable in any other jurisdiction. Although certain other countries have also destroyed some of their heritage, it certainly happened in this city, not just with the Wood Quay site but with others. Frascati House was also destroyed and we now have a shopping centre and an apartment block on a site which was of immense value. It is not just battlefields but also buildings of heritage. That is where discretion got us. We need to ensure if we are giving discretion to a Minister that it is tempered by those who have the expertise and that the Minister has to listen to the bodies that have been listed already.

Regarding amendment No. 74, I do not know what we are afraid of, but we will withdraw it because I understand what the Minister of State is saying about petitions which may be vexatious or mischievous. We can insert an additional line to cover that to ensure those mischievous or time-wasting petitions can be weeded out at an early stage. We should not be excluding or discouraging the public from engaging with any Minister to ensure their views are heard. It is not compulsory that they be taken on board but an answer should be given. Even with the vexatious or mischievous ones, an answer could be given very quickly, even consulting the National Museum or An Taisce. On time wasting, we do not have time to waste. I will withdraw amendment No. 74 on that basis and will resubmit it with tighter wording to ensure that element of it happens. I have covered the other ones in my previous statement.