Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)
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I apologise for the absence of Deputy Barry Cowen, who is indisposed, and I welcome the Minister of State and her officials in setting out their stall with regard to possible legislation arising from the findings of the Mahon tribunal. Today is an interesting exercise and the Minister of State has posed wide-ranging and pertinent questions. We are used to draft legislation, which is very helpful, and in many ways we all endorse the findings and recommendations of the Mahon tribunal. One of the most important measures put forward by the tribunal was the idea of a planning regulator. The tribunal indicated that centralising all the powers under the Minister was unhealthy, and the tribunal's finding possibly related to the happenings being investigated by it.

The Minister of State has posed questions and I am sure she has done some advance work on the issue. Does she see this as a quasi-judicial planning regulator with the power to compel witnesses? The Irish Planning Institute favours this idea, along with the idea that it should be based with An Bord Pleanála. I note the comments of the Minister of State in that regard. She is right to state that the position is never black and white and one must consider the impact on the work of An Bord Pleanála. It would be helpful to hear the Minister of State's views nonetheless.

Planning is a very complex area and councillors play a very central role. We must ask whether they are really equipped to handle the role they have. The idea of training courses for councillors seems to be almost essential at this stage. If the Minister of State is contemplating this, does she see such courses as being mandatory? That would be important in order to restore any confidence that may have been lost with the planning code, and every level should be examined from the ground up to ministerial level.

The idea of transparency was examined by the tribunal very closely as the issue only came to the fore in the tribunal process. We must now ensure that transparency is evident at all stages. Will the Minister of State elaborate on that idea? No matter how good a job we do with the structure put in place, if we are left with a void in transparency, it will be very damaging in the long run. Bringing that transparency about will require much deliberation as we should accept it is a complex area that is difficult to embrace.

These are my main concerns but I am very appreciative of the exercise being conducted by the Minister of State by raising questions in advance with us. I thank her for the effort.