Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I completely agree with everything Deputy Ó Broin said. Ultimately, local government, local democracy and local development plans are developed and produced at a local level. This must be respected. It is important that this legislation will not interfere with or restrict that local democracy. I just wish to make this point, without going over everything Deputy Ó Broin has said. There have been issues in Cork over the years in a context where local authorities put in a great amount of work to produce these development plans in negotiation with all the different stakeholders. This process cannot be superseded and it cannot be at risk of being superseded.