Mr. Philip Jones:

In terms of the national planning statements, Deputy Ó Broin is asking for specifics in the Bill. I suggest that, in section 24(2), "may" be changed to "shall" so that it would not be up to the Minister to decide on whether to consult before issuing the statement. I would also query the wording of section 24(2)(c), which reads: "any stakeholders or other persons the Minister considers appropriate". Perhaps this could be widened to include bodies representative of the planning and architectural professions, for example, the IPI, the RTPI and the RIAI, because we have some of the expertise. The Minister could decide that the only stakeholder he will listen to is the CIF. In fairness, he would want to consult stakeholders on both sides, but perhaps the Bill could be more specific in this regard and include the institutes. I will leave it up to legislators as to how the Oireachtas should be involved, but "may" becoming "shall" would be obvious so as to get the view of the public and, hopefully, us before issuing a national planning statement.