David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)

To reiterate Sinn Féin's position, we have no problem with inspections or with people being required to have a valid certificate of registration. We do not have any great difficulty with inspectors' powers either, our difficulty is with private inspectors. As we stated on Second Stage and during the debate on previous amendments, there is a wealth of individuals within local authorities who are qualified to carry out these inspections. In addition, many local authorities' planning offices are not as busy as they once were. For these reasons, we fail to understand why the Minister would appoint private inspectors instead of using persons already employed by the State.