Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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I again stress that these amendments were carefully considered by the largest representative organisation for local government councillors in the State, an organisation whose members include councillors from all of our parties. Given that this legislation will have such a profound impact on the role of our local authorities, which may be for the better or for the worse depending on one's point of view, I would hope that it will get more consideration.

To return to my point on the SHDs, the Minister is right that he has given the commitment he has mentioned. It would, of course, have been much better if he or his party had listened to the Opposition back in 2016 when his party colleague, Deputy Cowen, was their housing spokesperson and if they had then opposed the SHD legislation. The Irish Planning Institute, a range of local authority sectors and we in the Opposition fully understood where it would go and we were proved correct. My point is a different one. The SHD legislation created a planning mechanism whereby city and county development plans, local area plans and other plans could be overridden. That has caused considerable difficulty. That is why, for example, local authorities are taking An Bord Pleanála to court for breaches of those plans. That is why, in this instance, this is really necessary.

I do not believe it is the Minister's intention to use the LDA in the way in which his predecessor used the SHD process. I want to put that on the record. However, unless we have a belt and braces approach, to use the phrase the Minister himself used with regard to the last group of amendments, to ensure that the decisions on which elected members democratically agree after substantial public consultation with regard to city county development plans, local area plans and, crucially, strategic development zones, a particularly contentious issue with regard to Dublin's docklands, are fully respected, a local authority could, in the future, potentially find itself at legal loggerheads with the LDA and the board over, for example, a strategic development zone that conflicts with a county development plan or local area plan. That would not be a healthy place for any of us to be. It would delay residential development and would delay and undermine good quality place making and planning. On that basis, I again urge the Minister and members of the committee to support these two amendments.