Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is really important to understand why the Mahon tribunal made the recommendations it made. This tribunal took a very long time and involved very considerable deliberation. I do not believe any of its recommendations were made frivolously. Recommendation 1.09 says very clearly that the Minister, now the Minister for housing, "enjoys considerable discretion in determining ... [the] scope and content" of what we now call the national planning framework. Throughout its planning recommendations, the Mahon tribunal was concerned about the overconcentration of power in the hands of the Minister. It therefore made three interlocking recommendations. The first was that there should be a statutory plan. That has been done and we support it. The second was that there should be procedures set out for review and consultation. What is set out in the section the Minister of State mentioned, section 21(4), is very threadbare but at least it is there. The third was that there should be a vote.

Why was the vote recommended? If the consultation process is not adequate, perhaps because there has not been due regard to the views of the Oireachtas or a report of the Oireachtas, having a debate on a vote give Members of the Oireachtas an opportunity to say the Minister was meant to take due regard of a report that issued from the relevant committee or the view of Members of the Oireachtas but has not done so. It allows Members to demand on the floor of the Dáil that the Minister explain why and to say that their vote on the draft national planning framework presented is dependent on that explanation. It is a crucial check. The tribunal did not throw it in as a frivolous afterthought. It is a crucial part of the package. Any Member, whether a Government Member or an Opposition Member, should want this to be there.

Deputy O'Callaghan is absolutely correct; the Minister of State's explanation as to why he will not allow for a vote does not stack up. Why will he not allow a vote? The Oireachtas can be brought in at the beginning, in the middle or at the end but ultimately, given the enormous importance of the planning framework and its impact on every citizen and resident of the State over decades, why is the Government opposed to allowing a vote at the end?