Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

That we are talking about websites in the context of legislation is a sign that we have come a long way. The amendments before the House seek the specific inclusion in the Bill of a provision that would require the publication in a newspaper of the name of a website on which an environmental impact assessment can be downloaded or viewed free of charge.

I agree with Senator McCarthy that it is critical that the planning system should use the Internet as much as possible. I said in another context over the past two days that we should use the Internet more frequently. Section 248 of the legislation already takes account of the possibility of publishing such information on websites.

The Bill will amend section 146 of the principal Act, which ensures that where the board is required to supply any information, it may do so by electronic means, as long as it notifies the relevant parties that the information will be made available electronically. If such information is posted on a website, it is available free of charge as a matter of course. Therefore, no added value is offered by the specific inclusion of the phrase "free of charge", as suggested by Senator McCarthy. I do not propose to accept this amendment for that reason.

The substance of the Senator's amendment, which is his desire that information about these matters be freely available, is dealt with in the body of the Act itself. I share the Senator's view that we should make this information as freely available as possible. That is the effect of the other sections of the Act I have mentioned.