Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senators for their comments but I understand this matter was discussed on Committee Stage. On that occasion the Minister, Deputy Dempesy, indicated he was anxious to maintain a coherence between the greater Dublin area — as mentioned in section 3 — the existing regional authority and regional planning boundaries. There is a general acceptance of what the greater Dublin area is. I do not deny that a number of people currently commute from Drogheda. However, I was a local authority member for years and in the accepted sense, particularly at regional authority level, there is a fairly clearly defined acceptance of what constitutes the greater Dublin area. The Minister, Deputy Dempsey, wants to maintain that coherence so that people in the various bodies do not refer to different areas when they talk about the greater Dublin area.

There is a provision in section 3(c) to extend the geographical area of the greater Dublin area by ministerial order, should that prove to be necessary in future. I request the Senator to withdraw the proposed amendment. We want to keep to a standard definition and understanding of what constitutes the greater Dublin area.