Larry Butler (Fianna Fail)

The Minister of State is correct. He is not taking any power away from local authorities. When the draft development plan is done by the local authorities and the authorities consider what the regional authorities are doing, the most important aspect, and there has been no mention of it in the legislation, is the local area plan, which is a bigger and more important plan. Each local area in the Dublin region has its own plan. That is not so much the case in the country but in the Dublin region each local area has its own plan. For example, the Cherrywood local area plan has been on hold for three, four or five years because there was no proper infrastructure in place such as the Luas in the Cherrywood area. The Luas has now gone in and the local area plan can be completed for that area. There is a science and technology park in that area as well.

When we take into consideration the draft development plan, the local area plan and the regional plan, it is important we do it in that way because it is the local people who will decide. For example, there will be 25,000 people living in Cherrywood. We cannot willy-nilly have a draft development plan and say there will be development in a particular area. It must be thought out. The infrastructure must be put in place and the jobs created. It must be sustainable. These are the relevant issues.

I agree with the Minister of State in terms of what he is trying to do. He is trying to tie those three aspects together. That is welcome but I caution the Minister of State against giving the regional authorities too much power because it will affect the local county. That is the problem. The Minister of State should be careful about that aspect of it.