Tony Gregory (Dublin Central, Independent)

I would be grateful if the Minister would consider the matter when the Bill goes to the Seanad. When the section is amended in the manner in which the Minister proposes, it will appear that the consultation allowed to local residents will be a lesser subsidiary consultation, together with the Railway Procurement Agency and so on, whereas the opening statement is clear. It states that the agency shall, as soon as may be after its establishment, prepare a plan which is in this Act referred to as a "strategic plan" for the strategic development of the Grangegorman site in consultation with DIT, the Health Service Executive and the Minister. The residents will view this as excluding them. I do not think that including the residents will complicate the Bill. It will strengthen the Bill on this occasion. It will give the residents a clear role in the consultation process. If they are excluded from that opening statement, they will feel they do not have a full role in the consultation process. While I do not want to belittle the Railway Procurement Agency or any of the other groupings, the residents may feel, and rightly so, that they are being consigned to a lesser area of consultation.

The Minister should consider the points I have made. If she cannot do so now, I hope she will include the residents when the Bill is debated in the Seanad. They deserve to be included in the opening statement in section 11(1).

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