Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

The central point made by Senator McDowell relates to the discussion we had earlier on the definition of consultation when I said very clearly that sending out an e-mail or a newsletter does not meet the requirements of the definition in this regard. Part of the difficulty in this section lies in the question of using direct involvement or having representatives. The Bill strikes a very fair balance in that it provides for direct involvement up to the point where people are dissatisfied with it and opt for the representative model.