Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

As Members will be aware, as a general principle a decision which is relevant to a particular site, individual grant, etc., is generally, under local authority law, a matter for the county manager, whereas the reserved functions of a council in general terms relate to policy making, the adoption of county development plans, etc. As someone who for a long time served as a member of a local authority, I wish our experience nationally had been such that we would be encouraged and in a position to transfer more functions directly to local authority members, but that is not necessarily the case. The effect of the amendment would be to quite strongly contravene Schedule 15 of the Local Government Act 2001 and would go against a principle which is set out fairly strongly in local government law and in planning law heretofore.

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