Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)

I support the amendment. The bodies referred to in the amendment should not be kept in the dark regarding proposed amendments to a housing allocation scheme. Deputy Barrett made the point earlier that Oireachtas Members should also be notified of any amendments. Local authorities seem to treat Members as second class public representative simply because we do not attend council meetings and cannot take officials to task face-to-face or in the presence of the press. All public representatives, including Oireachtas Members, should be notified of any amendments to housing allocation schemes. It makes no sense that the bodies referred to in this amendment are not automatically notified of proposed draft amendments. It is only logical that they would and should have an input into any changes.

See this speech in context