Alex White (Labour)

I have a couple of questions for the Minister of State in this regard. I seek clarity in respect of amendment No. 28. While I understood what the Minister of State said, I am not sure it makes complete sense. It is proposed that the planning authorities will send a notice under the relevant section of a proposal to make, amend or revoke a local area plan and will publish that notice under the relevant section within a period not exceeding ten years from the date on which the authority "last made that local area plan", as distinct from the original provision to so do ten years from the date on which the authority "last made a local area plan". While I may be missing something, what if it is the first such local area plan? If it is the first such local area plan, the time limit of ten years from the date on which the authority last made that local area plan will not apply, because there never has been a previous local area plan. Although I acknowledge I may be missing something, I wish to understand this point.

The second issue pertains to amendment No. 29, with which I have no difficulty on the face of it. I presume the Minister of State has received advice to the effect that this proposed provision in the Act will be sound from a legal perspective. Perhaps the Minister of State will remind Members of the endurance of zoning in general and how long such decisions endure. Is a distinction now to be drawn between the duration of zonings within local area plans and more general zonings? I recognise the sense of what is being proposed. If there has been a proliferation of local area plans, one should have some view as to how long zonings made within a local area plan will endure. However, I wonder whether this opens a new area whereby some zonings last longer than others. I am curious in this regard.