Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support the amendment relating to the national planning framework. Any issues with it or reviews of it should be debated in this House. The Government obviously has to look at it and bring forward proposals but they should be open to scrutiny in this House. That is what we are here for.

Amendment No. 181 adds to the list of bodies to be consulted the national representative organisations of elected county councillors. Some have been freshly elected today. Some are still waiting. The vast majority are not. Those bodies should surely be allowed to have input or share insights because they represent the nearly 1,000 elected local representatives. Are we going to kill off democracy altogether? We wonder why we have such low turnouts. While not every councillor or county should be consulted, surely these two bodies should have some input into or oversight over these issues, representing their constituent members who are dealing with issues on the ground, often involving planning, on a daily or nearly hourly basis.

It is important that those two amendments are supported.

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