Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)

I wish to address several points which I raised. I try my best to speak Irish in the House as much as possible and I appreciate that some of my points may have been lost in translation. I welcome the Minister's comments regarding prior notice. One of the issues I raised was the situation of people with holiday homes, who may not be in them for weeks or months in a given year. Such home owners might argue that they were not given prior notice because they do not reside on a full-time basis in the properties in question. That issue must be addressed.

The Minister mentioned allowing scope for local authorities to take on additional staff. I disagree with Senator Leyden on this point. He seems to be of the view that there are local authority staff hanging around the place with little to do. I very much doubt there is a great deal of slack. Does the Minister's undertaking in respect of staff mean the moratorium on public sector recruitment will be lifted or will there be a special dispensation for this specific purpose?