Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

These amendments seek to improve these sections of the Bill and make it more transparent. I hope the Minister agrees to them. I cannot see a reason that he would not. Amendment No. 8 strengthens the language from "appropriate" to "essential", which is a higher bar. Amendment No. 9 requires the Government to provide more information to the public about why it is making an order for an emergency period. There is no reason for the Government to oppose that requirement. Amendment No. 10 will prevent cherry-picking of times across the Planning Acts in an unfair and inconsistent way. It seeks to provide for a more uniform and fair approach, which makes a great deal of sense. Amendment No. 11 seeks to address concerns, as Deputy Ó Broin mentioned, about different counties having different emergency periods and the confusion that might cause. Amendment No. 12 seeks to address the same issue in a different way by adding text to the Bill that would improve it. I ask the Minister to consider the amendments.

See this speech in context