Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this if it turns out to be what I think it is. That is the reason I want to tease out the issues and perhaps ask the Minister if his Department would consider publishing a set of guidelines that might be recommended to local authorities as an example of how the consultation process can be improved and can be seen to be more fulfilling and involve more engagement than has been the case to date. For example, if there was an issue in a local community whereby a traffic management plan was about to be implemented, I know from my own experience, and I am sure that of many others who meet and consult with local community groups on such issues, that people may seek to hold a public meeting or an information evening. On many occasions, members of the local authority staff do not attend such meetings because they do not feel obliged or compelled to do so. That is the gap that exists in the process where the local councillor is trying to communicate with his community and afford it information pertaining to a project that is in the offing. I am simply asking whether it would be possible for the Department to produce guidelines that might indicate practical means and methods by which the public could adjudicate on the improvements that are being presented as improvements on the consultation process. I do not know if the staff are constrained by the Haddington Road agreement; perhaps the Minister could respond to me on that issue.

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