Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The mandatory requirement to come before a local authority is as a result of a substantial new power in this Bill. I am trying to seek a balance to ensure that power is discharged appropriately. In the scenario the Senator has raised, local authorities are entitled to decline to exercise the power at a particular time, instead inviting the chairperson or chief executive to come in. All the power they have to invite people to come in and to ask people to appear in front of them is still there but I am a creating a whole new space of power for the local authorities. In recognition of the fact that a mandatory requirement to come in is such a big development, the ability to trigger it should be limited to particular time periods. Outside of those periods-----