Mr. Terry Sheridan:

On foot of the infrastructure that is there, it is ideal for development, but the timing of the SDZ was not perfect either. It was developed at the wrong time, as the economy was going into decline. I understand, however, that South Dublin County Council is reactivating it. It is proposing that the SDZ be extended beyond what was originally proposed. Hopefully there will be developments on that front going forward.

Deputy O'Dowd referred to the issue of corruption risks in local authorities. The regulator will be mandated to undertake reviews of the organisation, and the systems and procedures employed by planning authorities in the performance of their planning functions. Where it identifies issues like corruption risks, it will effectively be the first finder, and will report any adverse findings to the appropriate authorities for ongoing investigation - that would be the Garda Síochána, the DPP, etc.