Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I understand that he will bring forward technical amendments, but I am not sure that will change the fundamental difficulty that my party has with the issue. We are prepared, however, to await whatever technical amendments the Minister of State will bring forward. We reserve the right to table amendments on Report Stage. The Minister of State made some interesting comments on the clarification, understanding and interpretation of the Bill. That is a general problem that we have with this legislation. There is a profusion of Planning and Development Acts because of the failure by the Government to consolidate the legislation. If we have difficulties in interpreting and understanding the legislation in this House, what will the reality be for local authorities and applicants? It might transpire that court cases will refer to this legislation also.

The Planning and Development Act 2000 was substantially amended in 2006. We now have another substantially amended Bill before us. The absence of any consolidated text makes the legislation confusing and difficult to follow. It concerns us that it will be a source of significant income for lawyers because of the lack of clarity in the legislation. The Minister of State has hit the nail on the head in saying it is a serious concern. I will withdraw the amendment at this stage, while reserving the right to resubmit it on Report Stage in light of what the Minister of State has said.