Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

If the active land management functions of the LDA are to work, it has to have strong compulsory purchase order powers. According to a story in the newspapers in July, there was a view in the Department, on foot of advice from the Attorney General, that state aid rules would be breached. As a result, although we have only the heads of the Bill, the final version will contain greatly weakened powers in the context of compulsory purchase. I accept that the Minister cannot answer questions about the legal advice of the Attorney General, but will he tell us whether he has a concern about a breach of state aid rules? Does he plan to weaken the compulsory purchase powers originally envisaged under the heads of the Bill in order to avoid any conflict with EU law?

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