Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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The issue of retrospectivity often comes up. In the Minister of State's deliberations on the matter between now and Report Stage there are two issues to consider. In planning law, planning authorities can take into account certain forms of past behaviour, whether it is a failure to comply with terms of planning permissions or a failure to complete planning conditions. It does not apply to building control - we have separate legislation to achieve that - but there is an element of retrospectivity in making future planning decisions. Likewise with procurement law there has been an interesting discussion in another committee of the Houses of the Oireachtas to determine whether past breaches of building controls or of planning could be worked into conditions for future tendering in regard to procurement for public contracts. It was suggested by a Minister in the previous Government that this might not be legally possible but other European jurisdictions do it. As long as the rules apply to everybody in the same way, there is no legal question. These types of provisions, when crafted properly, in certain circumstances can be applied retrospectively. I urge the Minister of State to look at those examples, as well as what has been said by Deputy Cian O'Callaghan.