Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Government believes that the process that has been put forward in section 21 is more streamlined as to how we can work with the national planning framework. The Oireachtas comes in much earlier. Section 21(4) of the Bill before the committee states:

In carrying out a review under section 20, the Government shall have regard to any observations made on foot of the consultations under subsection (2), including any resolution or report of the Oireachtas or any committee of the Oireachtas, in respect of the matters to be included in the National Planning Framework.

We believe it is a process in which we are bringing the Oireachtas in much earlier. In terms of the national planning framework, it is down to whatever legislation is in place at the time that the NPF is coming through.

Our reasoning is based on two elements. The first is that the Government believes that policy should be set by the Government and the second is that we have just come up with a different process for developing the national planning framework, a process that brings the Oireachtas in much earlier. I refer both to committees and to the Houses of the Oireachtas themselves. Under section 21(2), the Oireachtas could bring forward resolutions regarding the national planning framework that the Government must take on board. The Oireachtas is very much involved in the process of preparing the national planning framework. That is it. Those are the reasons.