Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

I accept the Minister of State's point that there is no legal requirement on the councils but that could be a problem. I see no reason smaller towns and villages should not be legally required to have area plans in the same way as larger ones. Every town and village should have the opportunity to grow or exploit its potential to grow. A legal requirement on a town or village to provide an area plan would help that process.

I and many other people are aware of instances where councillors have stated that their town or village has been ignored in a county development plan. That could be because they do not have the number of elected representatives other towns or areas have. For that reason, a town or village might believe it is being left behind. Officials can decide and recommend to members of the council what towns or villages have a local area plan but when there is no legal requirement, some towns or villages could be neglected or ignored because of their size, social history, etc. We make this point to safeguard against that.

No matter how small a town or village, it should be entitled to have a development plan and not to be excluded. As I said previously, every town, community and individual should have aspirations to develop and grow. It is an aspiration every village community or individual should have. We should encourage that at all times, including in legislation. I do not see why smaller towns and villages should be excluded.