Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail)
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Absolutely. I thank everyone for coming to this meeting. During the many years I spent as a councillor, I saw the role that local authorities played in planning. I believe the local authority is the best place for planning. I am concerned about the possibility of this initiative being extended. Everything relies on local authorities. The mechanism used by local authorities always involves the type of house, the size of build and the kind of infrastructure, including schools, community facilities and doctors' surgeries, that is needed in local areas.

This is a major issue for local authorities and needs to go back to them. I firmly believe that the Minister needs to address this by staffing local authorities more. The biggest issue we have with our local authorities is understaffing. I have concerns about the number and types of houses that are being built. Local authorities need to be appropriately staffed. That is where I fundamentally believe we can get better results. I listened to what the witnesses said. They have done their job, but I think we need to go back to local authorities. Local authorities can play that part.