Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is the point of it being independent. It is that Ministers will not be pressurising it or that the planning authority will not provide special access for one group of people as opposed to the other, because that undermines the independence of the process. We know what the planning process is like. It does not always produce the outcome that is wanted and I acknowledge that, but it is fair and public representatives are not treated better than individuals who are representing themselves, and that is as it should be. The quality of the planning is the argument that they have to deal with.

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