Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

We could indeed. It is simply about subjecting these to democracy, and not just in the Dáil with the national planning framework. This is a theme that runs through many of our amendments all the way through this Bill and right down. At the level of development plans, we do have that. Everybody can put in submissions, the public is told, everybody gives their opinions, we hear from people, but ultimately the elected representatives in the council actually decide if that is the plan they will go with. Why would it be different at a national level? I find it concerning that this would be the case and I do not really understand the Minister's justification for not requiring that these national planning frameworks would ultimately be decided by the elected representatives of the people.

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