Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I am trying to remember the details but there was some legislation that was brought in centrally, which essentially gave the Minister the right to override a decision that had been made by the council regarding green roofs so it went out the window. That demonstrates the tension that exists between the imperative to maximise the potential for development, which is what the section 19(2)(a) provides for by "securing national and regional development strategies, including maximising the potential of the regions”. That is the first point and the second point is that it will be made it sustainable. Our amendment is saying that the only type of maximisation that we should consider is one that is, from the beginning, sustainable so we do not have that tension. There is no point in saying there is not a tension between developers who want stuff, or even governments, which can be for good reason because we do need lots of housing and then, as an afterthought, will screen it against our obligations for sustainable development. However, there is essentially a desire to get it through at the lowest point possible rather than having a starting point whereby all development should be sustainable from an environmental point of view.