Mr. Michael Hourigan:

I will take the question on Part VIII units. It is always good to review and reform things and we need to look at things from time to time. Coming from a local authority in Limerick, planning has been a major issue through the years, with 40% of our residents in social housing under the old city council. Planning was a huge issue for us. I totally agree with the Minister that is a time of crisis and we must fast-forward our planning process as much as possible. However, Part VIII as it stands today is a fast-track system if it is used well.

By taking the councillor out of it, the community is being taken out of the planning issue, because the councillor represents the community at the local authority. If the councillor's influence were diluted in any shape or form, it would be a very serious matter, because we must make sure that any development that goes forward is appropriate to the area it is going into.

We had a very good report in Limerick from John Fitzgerald, the former Dublin city manager. He wrote a wonderful report. I will not say people made mistakes because at the time people made their judgment in the best interest of the city, but in hindsight we made huge mistakes. We put all the social housing in together but without any of the necessary infrastructure. None of the educational facilities, health systems, transport systems or child care systems that were needed were put in. There were so many things we did not do at the time and we suffered severely for it.

I welcome the Minister's intention in a time of crisis to fast-forward as far as possible, but the role of the councillor is very important in doing that. We are the people who meet those at the coalface who have elected us. We go to the residents' associations and the community centres. We are in touch with them daily, so we do know what concerns them. There are major concerns regarding putting large amounts of housing into an existing social housing area or into private estates. While I welcome the Minister's intention to fast-forward in a time of crisis, he should look very carefully at the role of the councillor in any new set-up and measure it.