Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I take on board the views there. Let us use the example of the housing development, given by Deputy O'Callaghan, where because of public consultation and the councillors' interaction, a playground is added. If we made this amendment, and I do not want to be dumbing down on it, that would mean even what is deemed a positive change goes back out to another Part 8. We are going back again asking, potentially, a different question but back to the same members. This is an important role that our councillors have. They represent their people and their communities, and their reserved function is to make those decisions and balance up the considerations.

The Deputy has talked about parking outside schools. I have seen ridiculous campaigns started up by members of communities to try to retain parking and traffic outside schools. I have a couple of examples, and Deputy O'Callaghan will know one himself, whereby the councillors have held firm and done the right thing but that is all transparent. It is transparent on the basis that their meetings are held in public. For most Part 8s there will be a pre-preparation stage as well whereby the communities in the area, through their councillors, will be aware that a Part 8 is coming forward and the pre-draft plans, for argument's sake, in that informal way, are shared with stakeholders to try to garner buy-in and support.

Deputy Ó Broin made a very good point with which I agree. I think we are looking to change a process here and looking to fix something that is not actually broken. Let us go back to section 103, and the section we are looking at. We are looking at a planning application, which is all around additional information, and if there is additional information, then the planner decides and that is okay. The only people who would have known about something like that are the applicant and the planner. Let us remember that this is a public process, so there is Part 8 and there are drafts, designs and all of those various things. The substantial change in that is to ensure the planner, the official and planning team are saying, "Hold on a second, we need to go back and advise". This process is one that I think our councillors and local authorities discharge very well.

Having said that, I would be worried we would get caught up in a loop and with the best will in the world you might be saying to councillors, "That is a change and we are going to go back out and talk." That would result in an elongated pattern of more and more public consultation and more and more going back to the council. I do not want to bring in something that is going to elongate that process. Also, from a local democracy perspective, councillors are elected to make decisions, balance the rights and wrongs and take the views of the people, communities and stakeholders in the area on board, and then come with a balanced decision.

I will conclude by saying that any changes, let us say, that were proposed post-public consultation would have to be included in the chief executive's report. That is where I am at with it at the moment.