Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 279 refers to section 35(3), which states that:

In carrying out any screening assessment under subsection (2), the director of the regional assembly shall, with a view to avoiding duplication of assessments, take account of the fact and content of any assessment that the Minister has conducted in respect of the relevant National Planning Statement.

I am all for avoiding the duplication of planning because a massive amount of duplication goes on.

Does subsection (3) mean that the director of the regional assembly, if he does not consider the screening to be accurate or adequate, cannot carry out a screening assessment? What I had suggested would be introduced was to consider the adequacy when taking account of the fact. Does this mean the director cannot carry out his or her own screening if the Minister has already done it?