David Norris (Independent)

I am very glad to have an opportunity to speak on this Stage of the Bill. I hope to be able to refer to section 33, in particular, but I must attend a meeting of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs.

I welcome the emergence of the Bill from the Dáil. It is interesting that the amendments fill a very thick volume. This may suggest the Bill was not as carefully thought out as it might have been. There are 117 pages of amendments to a Bill that I believe has fewer pages. It is unusual and interesting that the Bill, after passing through the Seanad, has been returned from the Dáil with an enormous volume of amendments. Nevertheless, I welcome its return.

I very much welcome the help of the staff of the Houses, particularly those of the Bills Office. I am the first person to advert to the fact that in the old days amendments were grouped according to number. I have not heard anybody else mention this. In recent days amendments were given to us that were grouped not only according to number but also according to subject matter. This is immensely helpful. I thank the civil servants involved for their help in this regard because it makes our work as parliamentarians much easier.

When Senator O'Reilly said it might not be politically correct to say people came first, I felt it was about the most politically correct statement one could possibly make. I certainly support it, but it can be used as a fig leaf for other views.

I have stood in this House as more or less the lone supporter of An Taisce which I acknowledge has made mistakes. It warned us about the difficulties and dangers of one-off developments in the countryside in terms of sewerage, road access and other services and in terms of the cost to the environment and the Exchequer. It was perfectly right on this issue, although it might have made some tendentious objections in certain circumstances. I refer to certain offices around the country.

Let us consider the notion of people living in the countryside.