Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Where is the protection then for people who are already suffering from the inadequate voluntary buyout scheme that is currently in place? Is there any capacity to have that improved? I know the Minister can say the DAA could decide to do that if it likes, but is there a requirement in legislation on the competent authority that would enable it to improve the voluntary buyout scheme as it exists now? It is a huge issue for the residents who are here and for those who have taken legal action against the DAA and have had an enormous legal bill for which there is still no clarity on how it can be paid. Where is the scope for that protection? To correct the Minister, I did not say this Bill was being brought in to overturn the conditions of the planning condition. This is clearly to implement an EU regulation and we all know that. What we discussed many times is that there is a contradiction in a measure that was supposed to protect communities being hijacked by the DAA to overturn the conditions that are there and there is no secret about that. I want to know where is the capacity for the competent authority to deal with the issue of the voluntary buyout or to change it.

See this speech in context