Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Let us try again. The national planning framework has been in development for over three years. There was a rigorous governance roadmap in place. There was a pre-draft national consultation in February and March of last year, which was much vaunted by the current Tánaiste. It was followed by further consultation on the draft framework in September and November. The entire plan was based on legislation. The Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill was published in January 2016 by my colleague, the then Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly. The three of us were at Cabinet at the time and it was envisaged it would be formally voted on in the House before publication.

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