Michael McCarthy (Labour)

Senator White is a hard act to follow. Regarding the announcement by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the changes expected in the guidelines for rural housing, that issue has been well debated in this House and will no doubt be debated again over the next week or so.

I want to know the legal standing of county development plans. We should not lose sight of the fact that the executive powers which managers have allow them to grant permissions. The role of local authority members has been gradually degraded in recent years, not least with regard to setting the level of refuse collection charges. That power was taken from councillors by Deputy Cullen when he was Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The latest move is a cynical attempt at auction politics, buying votes for the next general election. I will wait to hear details of the plans before making a more informed statement.