Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

Senator Mooney made a valid point. As an island nation, it is incumbent on the Minister for Transport, Deputy Dempsey, to be at the forefront in the discussions with his European counterparts with a view to minimising the impact of the problem which, as we all know, could persist for days. Solutions that would be acceptable in terms of safety should be explored. The Minister should take personal responsibility for doing this.

On the comments made by Senators Ó Brolcháin and O'Reilly regarding co-operative wind farms, I attended several workshops on the matter at the Copenhagen summit and was impressed by the success enjoyed by certain Welsh co-operatives. I would welcome, therefore, a debate on the matter and ask that it be expanded to include the issues raised by Senator Leyden regarding An Bord Pleanála. Issues pertaining to An Bord Pleanála also arose at the conference organised for councillors and held in Sligo a couple of weeks ago which was attended by a number of Senators, including Senators Walsh, MacSharry and Coghlan. I was surprised at the low level of morale among councillors who feel undervalued by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. It would be helpful if we had a debate on planning to include the roles and responsibilities of local authority members, particularly in respect of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2009 and the Dublin mayoral election.