Paschal Donohoe (Fine Gael)

I concur with the words of my colleagues. I am particularly grateful for the Minister of State for acting on the two areas identified for change, namely, the need for this legislation to be consistent with county or city development plans and the need to put public consultation requirements on a statutory footing. As Senator McCarthy said, there are some areas that I still do not support regarding the reduction of the role of politicians in important areas. Having said that, the Bill has been improved since its entry to this House and that is what we are here to do. I thank the Minister of State and his staff for participating in the process and responding to the points raised by Senators on all sides of the House.