Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I did not make a comment on this last night, but this is my third time to contribution to a debate on legislation, where we are bringing in amendments to other Bills on Report Stage. It is disappointing and I accept that there was a presentation on the amendment last week on Committee Stage. My basic understanding is the regional planning process and the regional plans had commenced prior to the OPR being in place and, therefore, the legislation, as drafted, was not then in sync with the current regulator.

The amendment gives the regulator an extra two weeks to review the regional plans and give his or her opinion to the Minister to ensure that they conform with the national strategies. It also allows the Minister the standard four weeks to issue his or her instructions to the assembly. On the basis of the information that we were given on Committee Stage and in the Chamber last night, we have no problem with supporting this amendment. This situation is disappointing, though. This is the third Bill I have handled and it is the third time that we have used different legislation to sort out other problems. There will be another such amendment after this one.

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