James Bannon (Fine Gael)

He has let the people down in regard to Trim Castle and other historical sites. He gave conflicting replies to several questions in the Dáil about national monument sites which were not in the interest of our heritage and culture. The legislation does not address the protection of architectural heritage at the outset of the planning process and it does not provide an incentive for local authorities or the National Roads Authority to adopt best practice. It is important that we should get the legislation right from the outset. The Bill provides an incentive not to adopt best practice because when a difficulty presents itself in regard to national monuments, which should be addressed at the outset of the planning process, a path will be beaten to the office of the Minister to resolve difficulties. However, people do not have a great deal of confidence in him.