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

When the legislation relating to the Planning Regulator was going through the House, I had a conversation with someone who is centrally involved in the process. I asked the same question that I have asked the Minister of State twice - he has not answer - as to why the Government did not adhere to the Mahon tribunal’s recommendations. That individual to whom I refer asked “What happens if you get a cranky regulator?” My understanding at the time was that the reason as to why the power, as recommended by Mahon, was not vested in the regulator was for the Government to keep political control. Is that a fair read of the Minister of State’s explanation? In other words, that in this instance the Government would prefer to control that decision than to give it to an independent body. Is that what he is saying? That it is a political decision rather than a regulatory enforcement decision.