Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

First, there are no new powers in this Bill. It simply transfers powers previously held by the Minister to An Bord Pleanála. Let us be honest about this. In this House and in the Dáil there is much talk about the necessity to have appeals boards. People assert that a Minister or local authority should not make the final decision and call for the establishment of appeals boards. The appeals board for many issues nowadays is An Bord Pleanála. I was a member of a council for many years as a public representative. To be honest, one hates An Bord Pleanála one week and the next week one loves it. It depends on the decision. Somebody must make a decision. Many times one is horrified by An Bord Pleanála because it appears to go against what one wants but on other occasions it can save one from one's local authority. I felt that way many times. Even when I was on the local authority——