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

I ask a question relating to the planning and development (No. 2) Bill, which appears on the A list, and which brings me back to my previous question. I expect the Minister, as a member of the Cabinet briefed by the environment Minister when approval was sought and received for the ordering of 150 modular units, would surely have inquired as to whether emergency legislation was required for the units to be in place prior to Christmas. We have had emergency proposals and legislation for financial matters in the past and as previous speakers and others have alluded to, the Government can no longer sit on their hands with this crisis. Apart from the medium to long-term proposals emanating from the Government - I would question many of them - there has been no effort or urgency to bring forward immediate solutions.

See this speech in context