Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

If the Minister is concerned that local authorities would act too slowly if there was a 15-year window for enforcement issues to be raised and acted upon, I would be happy to work with him on setting timeframes in this section to ensure that issues had to be dealt with within a certain amount of time of being brought to light. However, that is not what my amendment is about. It is about the window within which enforcement action can be taken. There is a solution to the problem the Minister presents. I am sure he is aware of plenty of instances of cases being timed out. They often come to light in year 5 or 6, but by the time everything has gone through the process, communities are told that the seven-year limit has kicked in and nothing can be done.