Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The legislation for the office of the planning regulator will be coming through in the autumn. Subsequent to the passing of that legislation, the office will be put in place, which is something I presume the Deputy welcomes.

The case of Wicklow is under thorough consideration by my Department and I expect to be able to make some comments on that in the very near future. The Deputy knows that I cannot go into the allegations to which he referred, but the process we are putting in place will ensure that it is dealt with as efficiently and quickly as possible. As the Deputy is aware, it has been going on for some time. I believe that what we have put in place is the best way of dealing with it. Of course, we will constantly review it, but we are expecting full co-operation from all those involved. My Department has already written to the chief executive of Donegal County Council advising him of the appointment of a senior counsel. As soon as the contract is signed and the senior counsel is in place, we will ensure everybody is written to as part of this process.

See this speech in context