Michael Finneran (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

There is no requirement on any local authority, its members or its executive to bring in an area plan or a local plan up to a population base of 5,000. We all know that in almost every county, councillors and the officials have moved in regard to those small villages. Villages with populations of 200 or 300 have area plans. There is still that entitlement. They will have the same opportunity to do this next year as they had last year. There is no change in that respect.

The other point worth noting is that what we are proposing in respect of gateway and hub towns are targets to which one should aspire to achieve. We cannot invent people. Targets are as much as we can propose.