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

The amendment relates to section 16, on public inspection. That section states:

Where this Part requires publication by the Office of the Planning Regulator, a regional assembly or a planning authority of a notice stating that any matter or thing is or will be made available for inspection by the public ... [where the time period is not specified in the legislation] the Office of the Planning Regulator, regional assembly or planning authority, as the case may be, [will make it available to the public at a point that body] considers reasonable.

Of course, the problem is there is no definition of "reasonable". Who will get to the decide and on what basis? The core of what I am trying to do with this amendment, along with Deputy O'Callaghan, is to give some clarity as to who will define "reasonable". The amendment states:

In considering what constitutes a "reasonable” period, the requirement shall be to provide for a period consistent with affording the public an opportunity to effectively participate, bearing in mind the volume and technical complexity of the materials involved, and that traditional holiday periods are not conducive to public participation and therefore the periods need to be extended accordingly.

Many of us have had the experience, as the Minister probably has, that sometimes consultation periods are in July or August or over the Christmas period. Often, where the period is not specified in legislation, they pay no regard to whether it is a simple matter under consideration or one of some complexity. I am trying to find a way of defining or giving some guidance as to what is reasonable because if we do not, "reasonable" may be what is reasonable to the agency in terms of how quickly it wants to get on with the matter rather than what is reasonable for the purposes of public participation, which is the crucial issue at hand.